{"nrhp_refnum":"79000471","name":"Altaville Grammar School","other_names":["Old Altaville School,The","Red Brick Grammar School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"125 N. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Altaville","county":"Calaveras County","state":"CA","lat":38.082853182000065,"lon":-120.56200475199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story rectangular brick schoolhouse at 125 North Main Street in Altaville (Angels Camp), Calaveras County, California, erected in 1858 by an unknown builder. It measures 34 by 24 feet and has a wood bell tower.","why_significant":"The nomination ties the school to the development of Altaville, where it was the only educational facility until 1950 and is one of the oldest schoolhouses in California. It is also argued to be architecturally significant as a vernacular translation of Greek Revival design, with brick construction that was rare locally.","narrative":"Built in 1858, this one-room brick schoolhouse on North Main Street in Altaville served as the community's only school until 1950. Funds for construction were raised at a dance in a local billiard saloon, and the land was donated by Thomas Frazier. The building is a simple rectangle measuring 34 by 24 feet, with a gabled front, an oculus, a wood cornice with end returns, and a wood bell tower. Its brickwork details, such as flat arches over doors and windows, reflect local builder knowledge rather than formal Greek Revival ornament. Brick was rare in an area where wood Greek Revival houses were common. The school became a State Landmark and is regarded as one of the oldest schoolhouses in California and a landmark of the Mother Lode region. At the time of listing it stood vacant, with boarded windows, missing portions of the bell tower and a failing rear wall, though most original fabric remained.","period_of_significance":"1858 (erected 1858)","architect_builder":"Builder unknown","architectural_style":"Vernacular adaptation of Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as vacant and unoccupied; deteriorated and altered, with boarded windows, missing parts of the bell tower and a collapsing rear wall. No restoration plans existed at the time.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.282526-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/79000471.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000471/34741656e7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000471/34741656e7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Bobak Ha'Eri","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0724-CA-AltavilleGrammarSchool.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bobak Ha'Eri</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-0724-CA-AltavilleGrammarSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858462","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaville_Grammar_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4736198"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/calaveras-county/altaville-grammar-school-79000471/"}