{"nrhp_refnum":"03000191","name":"Buena Vista Colored School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"30th St. and Aspen Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buena Vista (Independent City)","county":"Buena Vista","state":"VA","lat":37.74410470400005,"lon":-79.35312199399993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-04-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":[],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick schoolhouse for African American children at 30th Street and Aspen Avenue in Buena Vista, Virginia. The older western section dates from 1914 and an eastern addition was built in 1926, with a small brick outbuilding behind.","why_significant":"The school is argued to be significant under Criterion A for its close association with the history of Buena Vista and its African American community in the areas of Ethnic Heritage: Black and Education. It served as the city's only school for Black children in grades 1-7 from 1914 to 1957. It also documents the segregated, unequal conditions of the period, including the requirement that Black patrons raise half the cost of the 1926 room.","narrative":"Built in 1914 after an earlier frame schoolhouse burned, this one-story brick building at the northern edge of Buena Vista, Virginia, served the city's African American children in grades 1-7 until 1957. A second brick room was added in 1926, enlarging the front from four bays to seven. The building has a hipped standing-seam metal roof, six-over-six windows, and some bricks stamped Glasgow. A brick shed once used for wood and coal stands behind it. The 1926 addition was paid for partly by Black patrons, who were required to raise half the cost, a practice common in Virginia then. Three generations of children received their elementary education here, since Black students in the city had no high school option until desegregation in 1965. It was recognized for its association with local African American history and education. The building retains much of its historic fabric and is currently vacant.","period_of_significance":"1914-1952","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Listed as work in progress and vacant; the building is in generally good condition, though the roof, guttering and the newer section's flooring need attention.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.153642-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/6799/41679914/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/03000191.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000191/8f8500705b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000191/8f8500705b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buena_Vista_Colored_School_Nov_12.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buena_Vista_Colored_School_Nov_12.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679914","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buena_Vista_Colored_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712104"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/buena-vista/buena-vista-colored-school-03000191/"}