{"nrhp_refnum":"84000115","name":"Valdese Elementary School","other_names":["Rock School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"400 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Valdese","county":"Burke County","state":"NC","lat":35.744957389000035,"lon":-81.56672779699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-10-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story fieldstone school building at 400 Main Street in Valdese, Burke County, North Carolina, built in 1922-23 from plans by Hickory architect Q. E. Herman and known locally as the Rock School.","why_significant":"It was the first substantial educational building in Valdese and was built largely by members of the Waldensian community, who initiated and financed the project. Its native stone construction, four-square massing and loosely derived classical detailing set it apart from the Colonial Revival school designs common in North Carolina in the 1920s and 1930s. It remains a prominent community landmark.","narrative":"Built in 1922-23 on a hill along Main Street in Valdese, North Carolina, the Rock School is a two-story building of randomly coursed fieldstone with a three-story clerestory over the central auditorium. Hickory architect Q. E. Herman drew the plans. Waldensian settlers from Northern Italy, who arrived in Valdese in 1893, led and financed the project. They hauled stone, and local masons accepted reduced wages because the school mattered so much to the town. It was the first substantial school in Valdese. Its four-square form and native stone differ from the Colonial Revival models common in North Carolina schools of the era. Inside, the main floor wraps twelve classrooms around a 374-seat auditorium, with wood wainscoting and pressed-tin ceilings. A WPA-built gymnasium was added in 1933-34. The school served students until 1977, and the town bought it in 1981. A public service organization now occupies it, and it is regarded as a community landmark.","period_of_significance":"1922-23","architect_builder":"Quince Edward Herman (architect); construction supervised by Antoine Grill","architectural_style":"Four-square massing with loosely derived Colonial Revival/classical detailing","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"In generally fair condition and in need of repair; used as a school until 1977, bought by the town in 1981, and occupied by a public service organization at the time of nomination, with fundraising underway to convert it to a multi-purpose auditorium.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:51.19981-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/7192/47719297/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/84000115.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000115/09ea37e5f5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000115/09ea37e5f5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Upstateherd","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Valdese_Old_Rock_School-Old_Valdese_Elementary_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Upstateherd</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:Valdese_Old_Rock_School-Old_Valdese_Elementary_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719297","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdese_Elementary_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18159046"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/burke-county/valdese-elementary-school-84000115/"}