{"nrhp_refnum":"75000262","name":"West Schoolhouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"61 Whig St. (formerly Nobscusset Road at Whig St.)","address_restricted":false,"city":"Dennis","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":41.73910429700004,"lon":-70.19910603799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-04-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, one-room shingled schoolhouse built c. 1770-1775 by N. Stone in Dennis, Massachusetts. It was moved in February 1974 to the grounds of the Josiah Dennis Manse, off Nobscusset Road at Whig Street.","why_significant":"It is the oldest school in Dennis and was used as a one-room district school until 1867. The nomination also cites it as an example of local building initiative and ingenuity. Its original hip roof, later covered by a ridge roof, and its rare dragon beam corner bracing make it architecturally noteworthy.","narrative":"Built around 1770 to 1775, this one-room, one-story shingled schoolhouse is the oldest school in Dennis, Massachusetts. N. Stone, son of the parish's second minister and a builder trained in Boston, constructed it for a group of local men who held shares in it. It served as a district school until 1867, when a consolidated school opened in the center of town. The building later became a barn and then an antique shop. In 1974 it was moved from its original site, which had been sold to a developer, to the grounds of the Josiah Dennis Manse after local citizens persuaded the Town to acquire it. Inside, the original hip roof is now exposed, though a ridge roof was added later, and each corner is braced with dragon beam framing described as peculiar to the area. Plans call for restoring it as an educational museum for the town's children.","period_of_significance":"c. 1770-75","architect_builder":"N. Stone","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Moved in February 1974 to avoid demolition or relocation; unoccupied, with windows boarded up for protection, and slated for restoration as an educational museum.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.408705-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/7940/63794039/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/75000262.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000262/8155bcbc54-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000262/8155bcbc54-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Athanasius28","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_West_Schoolhouse,_Dennis,_MA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Athanasius28</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:Old_West_Schoolhouse,_Dennis,_MA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794039","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Schoolhouse_(Dennis,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7986441"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/west-schoolhouse-75000262/"}