{"nrhp_refnum":"09000636","name":"Huntersville Colored High School","other_names":["Torrence-Lytle High School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"302 Holbrooks Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Huntersville","county":"Mecklenburg County","state":"NC","lat":35.398184024000045,"lon":-80.83461396599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-08-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Black"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A public school complex for Black students at 302 Holbrooks Road in Huntersville, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, built in 1937 and expanded in 1953 and 1957. It includes the high school building, a 1953 elementary school/cafeteria and a 1957 gymnasium.","why_significant":"The school is argued to be significant under Criterion A for education and ethnic heritage. It is one of the few substantially intact public schools built for Black students in Mecklenburg County and the only surviving Black facility there that offered secondary education from 1937 until 1966. The 1937 building is also cited as a fine example of a Public Works Administration school.","narrative":"Huntersville Colored High School, later renamed Torrence-Lytle High School, is a school complex on a five-acre tract in the historically African American Pottstown neighborhood of Huntersville. The original 1937 building is a one-story red brick Colonial Revival structure with an auditorium wing. Two-story modernist wings inspired by the International Style were added in 1957. A 1953 elementary school and cafeteria and a 1957 steel-framed gymnasium complete the group. The school was built with Public Works Administration help after local leaders, including Franklin Lytle and Ike Torrence, pressed for high school access for Black students. It is one of the few substantially intact Black public schools remaining in Mecklenburg County and the only one that offered secondary education from 1937 until students were reassigned to integrated schools in 1966. The property is now vacant, though much of the interior remains intact.","period_of_significance":"1937-1958","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival; International Style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant/not in use; the interior has water damage and neglect but is described as substantially intact. Part of the rear wing is used by the Town of Huntersville for equipment storage and repair.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:53.372875-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/7213/47721358/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/09000636.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721358","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntersville_Colored_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19462443"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/mecklenburg-county/huntersville-colored-high-school-09000636/"}