The Ashburn Colored School in Virginia, about 30 miles (50km) west of Washington DC, had been found covered in swastikas and "white power" slogans.

Local students were restoring the crumbling building, hoping to create an education museum.

The group, which raised $20,000 (£15,000) for the project, said that it had been "heartbroken about this senseless act".

Loudoun County Sheriff's Office has started an investigation.

Sheriff Mike Chapman said, "The vandalism to the Old Ashburn School is reprehensible and will not be tolerated here in Loudoun County,"

The Ashburn Colored School was found in 1892, when schools were racially segregated by law, to give education to African American students in Loudoun County.

It remained open until the late 1950s, and years after the US Supreme Court had banned segregated education.

Former student Yvonne Neal said, "It's like a landmark for those of us who went there."
Students from the neighbouring Loudoun School for the Gifted, who have been working on the restoration, expects to transform the interior into a museum of education.

The group said on its Facebook page, "While we are heartbroken about this senseless act, please know that our students, volunteers, and community will work even harder to complete the dream of renovating the Ashburn Colored School" .

A crowd funding campaign for the project raised over $21,000, with a fresh wave of donations arriving since the vandalism.

By Prakriti Neogi