{"nrhp_refnum":"78001959","name":"Penn, William, High School","other_names":["High Point Normal &amp","Industrial Institute"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Washington Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"High Point","county":"Guilford County","state":"NC","lat":35.96215565950004,"lon":-79.99714888913341,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-11-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The surviving campus of the High Point Normal and Industrial Institute, later William Penn High School, on a tree-shaded plot along Washington Drive in High Point, Guilford County, North Carolina. It consists of three buildings dating from about 1910 to 1930: two industrial-type structures and a two-story brick Colonial Revival school building.","why_significant":"The buildings are major community landmarks tied to the history of black people in High Point and to black education in the region. The school was founded through Quaker philanthropy and served the city's black community for decades. The two industrial-type buildings housed the manual training curriculum, and the nomination argues the school meets Criterion A for its associations with black education, Quaker philanthropists and broad patterns of High Point history.","narrative":"Three buildings on a tree-shaded plot along Washington Drive in High Point, North Carolina, form the surviving campus of the High Point Normal and Industrial Institute, later renamed William Penn High School. The institute began in 1891 when the New York Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends transferred its Negro school in Asheboro to the city. Students built much of the campus themselves, including Congdon Hall in 1901, and the school grew from frame structures into a brick complex. The largest surviving building is a two-story Colonial Revival structure with a pedimented entrance and an auditorium, remodelled and enlarged around 1930. Two one-story industrial-type buildings housed manual training. The school became a city public high school in 1923 and served the black community until it closed in 1968 after integration. Its academic courses ran alongside vocational training, and many graduates went on to teach others of their race. The buildings are significant for their role in black education in High Point and their Quaker philanthropic origins.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial Revival (main school building); the two industrial-type buildings have no stated style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Vandalized over the preceding nine years and threatened with demolition at the time of nomination; the school closed in 1968.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:41.120509-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/7206/47720612/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/78001959.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001959/fa1fde5a53-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001959/fa1fde5a53-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WPHS_(former),_High_Point.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WPHS_(former),_High_Point.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720612","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Penn_High_School_(North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18705999"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/guilford-county/penn-william-high-school-78001959/"}