{"nrhp_refnum":"72000219","name":"Centerville Schoolhouse","other_names":["Old Centerville School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2 mi. NE of Paradise on Humbug Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Paradise","county":"Butte County","state":"CA","lat":39.78803020500004,"lon":-121.65570911299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-03-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-room wooden schoolhouse built in 1894 on Humbug Road in Centerville, in Butte Creek Canyon about 13 miles northeast of Chico, Butte County, California.","why_significant":"The schoolhouse replaced the area's first public school of 1871 and served as the social, political and cultural hub of the former gold-mining community. It was the only public building of its period in the vicinity. A local association acquired it to preserve it from demolition and to interpret the area's pioneer history.","narrative":"Set in scenic Butte Creek Canyon about 13 miles northeast of Chico, this one-room schoolhouse was built in 1894 to replace the community's first public school, opened in December 1871. The shiplap building measured 20 by 40 feet with a front porch, and a belfry still holds its old pull-rope bell. Later changes included extended porches, a restroom building in 1935, and a kitchenette and cloak room in 1945. Centerville grew from gold-rush settlements along Butte Creek, and the school became the center of community life, hosting dances, musicals, student programs, political rallies and elections. Classes ended in 1966 after school unification. A local recreation and historical association formed in 1968 to save the building from demolition and now uses it for meetings, an annual arts and crafts show, and local history projects. It was the only public building of its period in the vicinity.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1894)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition and altered; owned by a local recreation and historical association, used as a park, museum and educational site, with preservation work noted and a museum building planned adjacent.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.041356-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/72000219.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000219/f258bb3193-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000219/f258bb3193-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"NoeHill","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Centerville_Schoolhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">NoeHill</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:Centerville_Schoolhouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858424","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133259312"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/butte-county/centerville-schoolhouse-72000219/"}