{"nrhp_refnum":"79001833","name":"Crawfis Institute","other_names":["Crawfis Grange Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Crawfis and Old Sugar Grove Rds","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sugar Grove","county":"Fairfield County","state":"OH","lat":39.67914657700004,"lon":-82.55779588299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Italianate school building completed in 1889 on a hilltop in Berne Township near Sugar Grove, about five miles southeast of Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an excellent, well-preserved example of a late 19th century schoolhouse, virtually unaltered since 1889 and one of the most significant historic buildings in Berne Township. It also holds local importance because it served at different times as an elementary school, high school and teacher normal training school.","narrative":"Crawfis Institute is a two-story Italianate schoolhouse completed in 1889 on a secluded hilltop in Berne Township, about five miles southeast of Lancaster, Ohio. Built of brick on an ashlar stone foundation, it has a Greek cross plan, a slate hip roof and a square cupola with a steep pyramidal roof. Segmental arched windows with brick hoodmoulds and bays set in recesses of corbelled brickwork and brick piers give the exterior a simple, dignified look. Inside, the woodwork, wainscoting, slate blackboards and staircase remain intact. The building is named for John Crawfis, who donated the land and the school. Over time it served as an elementary school, a high school and a normal school for training teachers, which gave it special meaning for people in Lancaster and Berne Township. It closed as a school in 1941, and the Crawfis Grange bought it in 1946 and continues to maintain and use it as a meeting hall.","period_of_significance":"1889","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Unaltered and occupied; closed as a school in 1941, bought by the Crawfis Grange in 1946, which still maintains and uses it as a meeting hall.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.610962-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79001833.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001833/4851aa0406-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79001833/4851aa0406-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jud McCranie","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crawfis_Institute,_Fairfield_County,_OH,_US.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jud McCranie</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crawfis_Institute,_Fairfield_County,_OH,_US.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988231","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137803073"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/fairfield-county/crawfis-institute-79001833/"}