{"nrhp_refnum":"09000601","name":"Russell School","other_names":["Cain's School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2001 St. Mary's Rd. (S. side SR 1002 .1 mi. W of jct with SR 1003)","address_restricted":false,"city":"Durham","county":"Durham County","state":"NC","lat":36.12507859700003,"lon":-78.94513401899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-08-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Black","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Russell School is a two-classroom frame Rosenwald school built in 1926-1927 on St. Mary's Road in northwest Durham County, North Carolina, next to Cain's Chapel Baptist Church. It was built from Rosenwald Fund Floor Plan 2-C; the builder is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is significant locally under Criterion A for African American education and under Criterion C as a representative example of a Rosenwald two-teacher school design. It is one of two Rosenwald schools said to survive in Durham County and retains virtually all of its original exterior and interior fabric. Its period of significance runs from its completion in 1927 to its closing as a school in 1945.","narrative":"Russell School is a one-story, front-gabled frame building on St. Mary's Road in northwest Durham County, built in 1926-1927 for African American children. It follows Floor Plan 2-C from the Rosenwald Fund's 1924 plan book. Two recessed entrances flank a shallow front wing that held the industrial room, where girls learned home economics and boys learned tool use and farm work. Two classrooms with tall banks of windows are separated by eight hinged doors that fold back to form one large space. Construction cost $3,695, with money from the county, the local Black community and the Rosenwald Fund. The school replaced a dilapidated one-room school and served grades one through seven until 1945, when the county sold it to the neighboring Cain's Chapel church. It has since served as a community center. Nearly all original siding, windows, doors and beadboard finishes survive, which is the main reason for its local significance in education and architecture.","period_of_significance":"1927-1945","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: Rosenwald School design","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used as a community center and annex to Cain's Chapel Baptist Church since 1946; it has no central heating, air conditioning or bathroom.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:53.782235-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/82/7200/47720082/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/09000601.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000601/4550518c88-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000601/4550518c88-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Maria Miracoli","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Russell_School_(Durham_NC)_02.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Maria Miracoli</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Russell_School_(Durham_NC)_02.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720082","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_School_(Durham,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18706037"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/durham-county/russell-school-09000601/"}