The Ashburn Colored School, which was vandalized over the weekend. (Kate Patterson/For The Washington Post)

Five Loudoun County teenagers are to be charged in connection with vandalizing a historic schoolhouse that once served the county’s African American students, allegedly spray-painting swastikas and “white power” on the side of the aging wood building.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said county prosecutors have not determined what charges the five teens will face for allegedly defacing the Ashburn Colored School. Police have not publicly identified the teens because they are minors.

The school, a small wood structure with peeling white paint and a stone foundation, is being restored by students from the Loudoun School for the Gifted, a project aimed at turning this historic school into a sober reminder of the county’s segregated past. The one-room schoolhouse opened its doors to the county’s African American students, who were barred from attending schools with whites, in 1892. It remained open until the late 1950s, when the county built another school for African Americans.

The building was vandalized either late Friday or early Saturday morning. In addition to swastikas and “white power,” the sheriff’s office found other vulgar messages spray-painted in blue, pink, red and black on the building’s sides and windows, which had just been installed.

[Historic black school defaced with ‘white power’ and Nazi graffiti]

The sheriff’s office offered a $2,000 reward for tips leading to the identification of suspects and enlisted the help of the FBI, and after the vandalism was publicized, tips poured in about who might be behind it. Information from the community ultimately aided the sheriff’s office in identifying the suspects, spokesman Kraig Troxell said.

“We would like to thank the community and our local leaders for their outpouring of support and for understanding the significance of these offenses,” said Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman.

The vandalism sparked a massive outcry from the community and from around the country. Donations poured in to boost the restoration effort.

Deep Sran, the principal of the Loudoun School for the Gifted, said the project’s GoFundMe fundraising page went from a total of $6,000 in donations on Saturday morning to more than $65,000 five days later.

[While building a modern school, Va. students hope to save a historic one]

Sran said he was heartened by the response from the community, which offered financial support but also appears to have helped the sheriff’s office identify the perpetrators. He said he was shocked that local teenagers — who are about the same age as the students restoring the school — are suspected in the vandalism.

“I’m frankly very, very surprised,” Sran said, adding that he had always found Ashburn to be a community that embraced diversity. “You just don’t think that would happen here because of how tolerant and diverse a place it is.”

The Loudoun School for the Gifted hoped to offer an in-depth and hands-on lesson on the history of segregation when it purchased the building to fix it up. Sran said the vandalism incident — and the quick identification of suspected perpetrators — created another teaching moment.

“People are always going to do bad things,” Sran said. “It depends on how the community responds.”

Despite the ugliness of the graffiti and the grueling nature of removing it, Sran said the episode left him feeling optimistic.

“People should be heartened by the outcome here,” Sran said. “The fact the community rallied, the fact that the project is now accelerated . . . this is a good outcome at the end of the day.”

Weather permitting, the Loudoun School for the Gifted plans to host a community restoration event at the schoolhouse, located at 20579 Ashburn Road, on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., inviting community members to help clean up the building.