{"nrhp_refnum":"10001061","name":"Jefferson School","other_names":["VDHR#105-0171, East Elementary","Clinton Forge Elementarty East"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"A Street","address_restricted":false,"city":"Clifton Forge","county":"Alleghany County","state":"VA","lat":37.81769051400005,"lon":-79.81897022699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-12-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Black"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick school building on A Street in Clifton Forge, Alleghany County, Virginia, built in 1926 with a two-story addition completed in 1952. It served the town's African-American students.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is significant under Criterion A in Education and Black Ethnic Heritage at the local level. It served African-American students in Clifton Forge from 1926 until desegregation in 1965, and was the fourth school built for them. It reflects the community's commitment to education during the town's railroad-driven growth.","narrative":"Jefferson School is a two-story brick school on A Street in Clifton Forge, Virginia. The original building dates to 1926 and has a symmetrical Classical Revival facade with pilasters, a corbelled cornice, and ribbons of small-paned windows around an arched entrance. A two-story addition of 1952, containing classrooms and a gymnasium with stage, was built in a restrained Art Deco manner. Inside, the 1926 section keeps tin ceilings, beaded-board wainscoting, chalkboards, and transoms. The school educated the town's African-American students from 1926 until desegregation in 1965, and it was the fourth school built for them. Parents and teachers pressed for design changes, including a larger assembly room suited to indoor sports. The building was listed for its role in local education and Black ethnic heritage, set against the growth of a railroad town. It is now vacant, and a rehabilitation was planned.","period_of_significance":"1926-1960","architect_builder":"1926 building: School Building Service of the State Department of Education (VA), architect; J.R. Campbell, contractor/builder. 1952 addition: Fleming R. Hurt and Charlie D. Hurt, Jr., Architects","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant/not in use; eight non-contributing modular units on site were slated for removal as part of an upcoming rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.3275-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/6794/41679486/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/10001061.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001061/8751bd330a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001061/8751bd330a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"James Shelton32","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jefferson_School_(Clifton_Forge,_Virginia).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:Jefferson_School_(Clifton_Forge,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"12000517","name":"Clifton Forge Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/clifton-forge-historic-district-12000517/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679486","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_School_(Clifton_Forge,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712626"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/alleghany-county/jefferson-school-10001061/"}