Mary Ellen Henderson

Mary Ellen Henderson devoted her life to gaining access to quality education and facilities for African American children and civil rights for all.

Mary Ellen’s mother was one of the first African American women to graduate from a University in America. Mary Ellen’s father practiced law, was a builder, and worked for the Internal Revenue Service.

Mary Ellen was called Nellie by her family and friends and later “Miss Nellie” by her students. She attended the M Street High School in Washington, DC, the first high school for African Americans.

In 1905, she graduated from Minor Teachers College, the school that trained African American teachers. This is where she met her future husband, Edwin B. Henderson, and they were married on December 24, 1910, a marriage that lasted for 66 years. When she married, Mary Ellen had to resign from teaching because the school system did not allow married women to teach school.

The couple moved to Falls Church and lived with Edwin’s parents. In 1911, they bought an acre of land and built a home. They raised chickens, cows, horses, and grew vegetables. She and her husband had two sons, Edwin Meriwether, born in 1912, and James Henry Meriwether, born in 1917. The oldest, Edwin, became a dentist. James became a scientist and taught at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

Mary Ellen agreed to reopen the Falls Church “colored” James Lee School, which had been closed because there was no teacher. The two-room frame school was overcrowded, had no indoor plumbing, running water, central heat, or janitorial services.

They had few supplies and used cast-off books, but despite those conditions, Miss Nellie provided an excellent education.

She lobbied the school board for a new building for more than twenty years. In 1936, after she completed a groundbreaking study that highlighted the disparity between black and white schools and mobilized an inter-racial group of supporters, she was finally able to convince the school administration to build a new school for African American students.

She taught and served as principal there for thirty-two years.

Her study became the basis for legal redress against inequality in the public schools throughout the state. A political activist, she was the first African American to join the Falls Church, VA. League of Women Voters, a founding member of the Women’s Democratic Club, volunteered for thirty years with the Girl Scouts, and was a dedicated community volunteer. She devoted her life to gaining access to quality education and facilities for African American children and civil rights for all.

In 1912, Mary Ellen joined her husband in forming a group called the Colored Citizens’ Protective League (CCPL) to protest ordinances that would provide for the segregation of the races which would have confined African Americans to a small section of Falls Church, even though they lived beside white neighbors at the time.

The town council eventually retracted the ordinance. The work of the CCPL continued.

Together, the Hendersons fought for a better school. In a study, titled “Our Disgrace and Shame: School Facilities for Negro Children in Fairfax County,” conducted by Mary Ellen and published in the 1940s, she drew attention to the racial gap in school resources for Black and white students. With help from her husband, who produced and distributed a flyer on the subject, the Hendersons and fellow activists were successful in convincing Fairfax County to build a new building for James E. Lee Elementary School, which included six rooms, as well as an auditorium, library, clinic, and cafeteria. 

Ms. Henderson’s contributions and accomplishments have not been widely recognized. Ms. Henderson has only recently begun to be recognized for her many outstanding accomplishments. To honor this great woman, the school board for the City of Falls Church decided to name its new middle school for Mary Ellen Henderson. The school opened this Fall and is a fitting tribute to her impact on the students of yesterday as well as today. Her poignant story demonstrates how one person can make a difference in the lives of young people.

Explore More People of Tinner Hill

  • In 1915, a son, Joseph Tinner, joined with neighbor Dr. E. B. Henderson and others to protest a proposed city segregation ordinance that would have forced Black residents to sell their homes and move to one part of town, much like Nazis would do just a few years later in Europe. They formed a group they called the Colored Citizens Protective League, which in 1918 became the first rural branch of the NAACP.

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  • Before civil rights became a popular movement, Dr. Henderson was the voice for change for African-Americans in the entire metropolitan region. His letters were published in newspapers throughout the eastern United States. To honor his work and achievements in this area and to inspire youth to follow this same path, the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, along with the Washington Post and Diener and Associates, CPAs, sponsors the annual E. B. Henderson, "Dear Editor" Contest for high school students in Northern Virginia.

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  • Harriet Foote Turner was an enslaved woman who escaped from the nearby Cook -Fitzhugh plantation in the late 1850s (American Battlefield Trust ). Harriet played an important role in the pathway to freedom for many enslaved people in the Falls Church area. In 1858, Harriet used forged passes to lead 12 newly enslaved people to freedom in Canada by posing as their owner (The VDHR Historical Marke r Database ). Harriet Foote Turner, lived where the Falls Church tobacco barns were located on what is now South Maple Avenue. She was the aunt of E.B. Henderson (HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 350 - Commending Henderson House ). Harriet Foote Turner is buried at Galloway Methodist Church .

  • George and Harriet Brice were previously enslaved people who became prominent African American landowners of Falls Church. Harriet Brice gained freedom prior to 1860. She lived and owned land in Falls Church at the beginning of the Civil War. George Brice gained freedom after fleeing to the Union in 1861, shortly after in 1863 he joined the 6th Regiment United States Colored Troops. The couple raised their family in Falls Church. Harriet purchased land in 1864. George farmed this land and the land of absent landowners in exchange for a portion of what he grew on the property.

    In 1867, George and Harriet Brice helped to buy land for what was then known as Watkins Chapel, now the Galloway Methodist Church (blackpast.org).

  • Louisa Henderson was the mother of E.B. Henderson and the daughter in law of Eliza Henderson. Louisa helped to run Eliza’s grocery store until the 1930’s. She was a member of the nearby Second Baptist Church and donated a portion of the land the church campus sits on today.

  • Frederick Forrest Foote Jr., a prominent African American merchant and landowner was elected as town constable in 1875. He later went on to serve on the Falls Church Town Council for four terms from 1880 to 1889. Foote was the first African American Council Member. Foote owned a popular grocery store in town which was later purchased by his cousin Eliza Henderson. His father, Frederick Forrest Foote Sr., owned over 30+ acres on the east end of Falls Church.

  • Ollie Tinner was a leader in civil rights efforts around education equality, justice in courts, and African American participation in civic and governmental affairs. For over 20 years, he lobbied alongside Mary Ellen Henderson for a new school for African American Children as well as for funding for new school supplies and books for African American children. Ollie was also the author of “The Colored Citizens' News” in the Fairfax Standard. Many of his articles can be viewed on the Virginia Chronicle. Ollie was a member of the nearby Second Baptist Church and is buried there. 3. The Henderson House 307 S Maple Ave | RPC: 52-306-018 Source: Virginia Department of Historic Resources The Henderson House is located at 307 S Maple Avenue. The property is significant as it was home to Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson and Mary Ellen Henderson, husband and wife, who were prominent figures in Falls Church and civil rights advocacy. Dr. Henderson was a founding member of the first rural branch of the NAACP in 1915 and Mrs. Henderson was a principal in then segregated Falls Church schools and a mem