# Fishburne Military School

Fishburne Military School (FMS) is a private, military boarding school for boys in Waynesboro, Virginia, United States. It was founded by James A. Fishburne in 1879 and is the oldest military high school in Virginia, and the 13th oldest in the Nation, still in operation today.

## History

James Abbott Fishburne an honor graduate of Washington college, was inspired by its president, Robert E. Lee and in 1879 with 24 students, opened what eventually was to be called Fishburne military School. Professor Fishburne died on Nov 11 1921. The first section of the wooden barracks (now called the front parapet) was built in 1883, it was accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1897. Staunton architects T.J. Collins & sons designed the 1916-22 barracks complex, the 1915 library (Virginia's second Carnegie library) and the 1940 gymnasium-administrative building. Colonel Morgan H. Hudgins, is the schools second great leader. He began teaching in 1901 and served as Principal/Superintendent from 1912-1952. In February 1919, the school adopted one of the nation's first Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps programs. The Fishburne-Hudgins Educational Foundation Inc. was organized by alumni in 1951 to acquire and perpetuate the school and was named for the school's founder and his successor, COL Hudgins. This Foundations Board of Trustees continues to oversee the operation of the school.

## Campus

The 1916 Gothic Revival barracks designed by Staunton architect T.J. Collins was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 4, 1984 (Ref. # #84000058). It is the center of the Fishburne campus and dominates downtown Waynesboro as it sits on a hill overlooking the school's parade and athletic field. The barracks building is constructed in the form of an open, three-floor rectangle with cadet rooms, some offices and classrooms facing the open Quadrangle. Attached to the barracks themselves is a wing containing the chapel above the mess hall which is above the swimming pool.
Attached to the barracks by a breezeway is the administrative/gym building. The most recently occupied campus building, sitting on the southeast corner is Hobby-Hudgins Hall, combining a modern computer center and library with physical education facilities including locker rooms and weight room.
Hitt-Millar Fieldhouse, the 23,000-square-foot, $4.5 million building built in 2019, is the new home of the school’s physical-conditioning program, with a full basketball court, weight-training facilities, coaches’ offices, a fully-equipped trainers’ room and a multi-purpose conference area.
The project was made possible through generous donations from the Hitt and Millar family. Russell Hitt, FMS Class of 1953, a long-time supporter of Fishburne Military School, joined with his daughter, Tracey Hitt Millar, and her husband, Jim Millar, provided the $4.5 million donation to fund construction.

## Notable alumni

* Gerald L. Baliles, 1959, Governor of Virginia
* John Campbell, bassist of heavy metal band Lamb of God
* Reno Collier, stand-up comedian
* ED Denson, music group manager, producer, record label owner
* Daniel Dixon, professional basketball player
* Jonathan Edwards, singer and songwriter
* Otto Felix, 1962, actor, writer
* Samuel Lightfoot Flournoy, lawyer and politician
* Leonel Gómez Vides, Salvadoran activist
* John L. Hanigan, businessman
* Monk McDonald, college athlete, a head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
* Vince McMahon, 1964, WWE (formerly WWF) chairman and founder of the XFL
* John O. Noonan, 1999, conservative policy advisor and writer for The Weekly Standard
* Bill Palmer (1938–2020), swim coach
* John J. Rowlands, journalist, writer, and outdoorsman
* W. Richard Stevens, technical author

## Notable faculty

* John W. Fishburne, Virginia Congressman
* Joel Greenspoon, psychology researcher, professor, and clinician