{"nrhp_refnum":"07000397","name":"Keokee Store No. 1","other_names":["Keokee High School Gymnasium","Vdhr 052-0066","Darnell's Store"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Cty Rd. 606","address_restricted":false,"city":"Keokee","county":"Lee County","state":"VA","lat":36.865226846500036,"lon":-82.89978500937931,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-04-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, gambrel-roofed stone building on County Road 606 in Keokee, Lee County, Virginia, built in 1910 as a coal company commissary and converted in 1939 into a school gymnasium.","why_significant":"It is a rare surviving coalmining camp commissary from the earliest period of mining in the area. It reflects the commerce and industry of the Stonega Coke and Coal Company and the Keokee community. After 1939 it served as a gymnasium hosting athletic, educational and entertainment activities for students and local residents.","narrative":"Built in 1910 in the former coalmining camp of Keokee, in far western Virginia, this two-story stone building with a gambrel roof began as the company commissary for the Stonega Coke and Coal Company. As Keokee Store No. 1, it was the central focus of community life and a symbol of company dominance until it closed in July 1932. In 1938 the Lee County School Board acquired it, and in 1939, with federal public works funding, it was converted into a gymnasium for the new Keokee High School. The upper level holds the gym floor and a stage, with locker rooms below, and a later brick addition stands at the east end. Vinyl siding now covers the front and rear, though the long stone sides remain largely unaltered. It is considered a rare surviving commissary from the area's earliest mining period, and it still serves the school as a gymnasium, having hosted athletics, education and entertainment.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1910-1954","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Craftsman","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Remains in public school use as a gymnasium; altered in 1939, with vinyl siding on the front and rear and a later brick addition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.805331-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/92/6814/41681492/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000397.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000397/4b231d9fa3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000397/4b231d9fa3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"James Shelton32","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keokee_Store_No._1_Rear.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">James Shelton32</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keokee_Store_No._1_Rear.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681492","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keokee_Store_No._1","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712661"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/lee-county/keokee-store-no-1-07000397/"}