{"nrhp_refnum":"08001076","name":"Lancaster District School No. 6","other_names":["Little Red Schoolhouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3703 Bowen Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lancaster","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.88354282300003,"lon":-78.63980248499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-11-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-room, single-story, T-shaped brick Italianate schoolhouse at 3703 Bowen Road in Lancaster, Erie County, New York, built in 1868 from New York State standardized plans and known as the Little Red Schoolhouse.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant for its link to local and regional educational development in Lancaster and as a surviving example of a rural one-room brick Italianate schoolhouse. Most such schoolhouses in Erie County were demolished or converted to homes, which adds to its rarity. Its high ceilings, evenly spaced windows and separate boys' and girls' coatrooms reflect mid-nineteenth-century school reform ideals.","narrative":"Built in 1868, the Little Red Schoolhouse on Bowen Road in Lancaster, New York, is a single-story, T-shaped brick building in the Italianate style. It follows New York State standardized plans and sits on a high limestone foundation, with round-arched windows on the front and a limestone plaque reading \"Dist No. 6 / Built 1868.\" One teacher taught grades one through eight here from 1869 until the school closed in 1948 as Lancaster consolidated its schools. Later it served as a polling place. A fire in 1967 destroyed the roof and interior, and plans to demolish it for a gas station were dropped. The Lancaster Historical Society restored it in 1977, guided by two former teachers, and furnished it with period desks, slates, textbooks and the original bell. It now works as a museum for local schoolchildren. It is significant for its role in local education and as a rare surviving rural one-room brick schoolhouse in Erie County.","period_of_significance":"1868-1949","architect_builder":"New York State Standardized Plans; builder unknown","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Restored in 1977 after a 1967 fire and currently used as a museum and historical association meeting space.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.544054-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/08001076.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001076/33d8b189f9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08001076/33d8b189f9-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lancaster_District_School_No._6_Aug_10.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lancaster_District_School_No._6_Aug_10.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317658","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_District_School_No._6","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14706761"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/lancaster-district-school-no-6-08001076/"}