{"nrhp_refnum":"11000554","name":"Toms Brook School","other_names":["DHR File No. 313-5001"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3232 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Toms Brook","county":"Shenandoah County","state":"VA","lat":38.94367310900003,"lon":-78.44326246499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2011-08-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story red-brick Colonial Revival school at 3232 South Main Street (U.S. Route 11) in Toms Brook, Shenandoah County, Virginia, built in 1935-1936 and designed by James Raymond Mims, with a one-story cafeteria added in 1952.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is a locally significant example of then-modern fireproof school design in the Colonial Revival style. Its unusual plan places a large auditorium/gymnasium across half of the building. It was the last school built in the county's 1930s construction campaign, and the county chose a custom design rather than a state standard plan.","narrative":"Built in 1935-1936, this two-story red-brick school is the largest building in the Shenandoah Valley turnpike town of Toms Brook. Its monumental columned portico and white trim give it a commanding presence among the town's mostly frame buildings. Architect James Raymond Mims of Luray designed the fireproof building in the Colonial Revival style. The plan is unusual: a two-story auditorium and gymnasium measuring 50 by 80 feet takes up half the interior, with a corridor and twelve classrooms along the other half. A cafeteria, also by Mims, was added behind the school in 1952 and linked by an elevated walkway. The school replaced an 1879 frame building and was the last built in a 1930s county campaign to replace older schoolhouses. The county chose a custom design instead of a standard state plan. It is significant locally for its architecture and early fireproof construction. The building is now vacant and its interior is in poor condition.","period_of_significance":"1935-1952","architect_builder":"James Raymond Mims","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant; the classrooms are described as in extremely poor condition.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.132438-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/83/6835/41683583/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/11000554.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000554/b428c4a2f4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/11000554/b428c4a2f4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Strawser","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toms_Brook_VA_School_Sept_2013.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Strawser</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:Toms_Brook_VA_School_Sept_2013.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683583","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toms_Brook_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16901844"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/shenandoah-county/toms-brook-school-11000554/"}