{"nrhp_refnum":"72000938","name":"Central Elementary School","other_names":["\"First\" New Bern Academy Building","\"Second\" New Bern Academy"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"311-313 New St. and 517 Hancock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bern","county":"Craven County","state":"NC","lat":35.11024253000005,"lon":-77.04118984699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two connected-by-site school buildings on Academy Green in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina: the First New Bern Academy Building (1806, brick, two stories) and the Second New Bern Academy Building (1884, brick, two stories). Both are now part of Central Elementary School.","why_significant":"The buildings stand on the site of a school believed to be the first in North Carolina established by legislative authority, and are direct descendants of it. They are fine, unusually well-preserved examples of nineteenth century school architecture. They are also tied to a distinguished list of trustees and alumni, including governors and members of Congress.","narrative":"Two brick school buildings on Academy Green in New Bern form part of Central Elementary School. The First New Bern Academy Building dates to 1806. It has Flemish bond brickwork, a hip roof, a pedimented central pavilion and a semicircular porch with Tuscan columns. Inside, much of the original woodwork and mantels survives. Beside it stands the Second Academy Building of 1884, a seven-bay brick structure with a wooden bell tower and a stone tablet reading \"Nulla Palma Sine Pulvere.\" The site traces to a school authorized by the General Assembly in 1764, described as the first in the province established by legislative authority. Trustees and alumni included governors, a Congress member, and a state supreme court justice. The First Building served as a hospital after Union forces took the town in 1862, then returned to classroom use. Both buildings still function as schools.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"First building attributed by Colonel John Whitford to James Coor; Second building designed by an architect identified as Mr. Carroll","architectural_style":"Federal/Adamesque detailing in the First Academy Building; the Second Academy Building is a late nineteenth century brick school with a bell tower","criteria":[],"status_note":"Both buildings still serve their original educational purpose as part of Central Elementary School; condition is listed as good and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.006343-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/42/7197/47719742/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000938.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000938/2fe101584a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000938/2fe101584a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tradewinds","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Central_Elementary_School_-_New_Bern_Academy.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Tradewinds</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:Central_Elementary_School_-_New_Bern_Academy.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719742","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Elementary_School_(New_Bern,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18148883"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/craven-county/central-elementary-school-72000938/"}