{"nrhp_refnum":"85000345","name":"Chappell Hill Public School and Chappell Hill Female College Bell","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Poplar St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chappell Hill","county":"Washington County","state":"TX","lat":30.141103959000077,"lon":-96.26323079799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-02-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1927 single-story brick school building on Poplar Street in Chappell Hill, Texas, designed by Page Bros. Architects and built by Austin contractor Frank Barron, together with an 1873 cast college bell displayed on the grounds.","why_significant":"The school was the first new school built in the 20th century for the Chappell Hill Independent School District and shows early 20th-century educational architecture with Jacobean detailing. It stands on the site of the Chappell Hill Female College. The bell is the only surviving relic of the college's 1872 main building and symbolizes the town's role in education.","narrative":"Chappell Hill Public School is a single-story, L-shaped brick building on Poplar Street, completed in 1927 to designs by Page Bros. Architects and built by Austin contractor Frank Barron. Its crenelated parapet, castle-like entrance and stone trim give it a Jacobean character, and inside are large classrooms, an auditorium and pressed-metal ceilings. It was the first new school built in the twentieth century for the local school district and reflected modern ideas about public education. The site was previously home to the Chappell Hill Female College, which operated from 1854 to 1912. The school served students until 1966 and later passed to the Chappell Hill Historical Society, which runs it as a community center and museum. Nearby is the college bell, cast in 1873 in Troy, New York. It is the only remaining relic of the college's 1872 main building and was rescued from a wartime scrap drive around 1943. It now sits in a lighted case on a base of stones from Soule University.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Page Bros. Architects (Harvey L. Page); constructed by Frank R. Barron, Austin contractor; bell cast by McNeely and Kimberly, Troy, New York","architectural_style":"Early 20th-century scholastic architecture with Jacobean flair and Gothic detailing","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Physical condition excellent; used as a community center and museum. Aluminum windows replaced the original wooden sash in 1982.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.223602-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/9706/40970697/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/85000345.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000345/500687a1c6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000345/500687a1c6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chappell_hill_public_school_2008.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chappell_hill_public_school_2008.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40970697","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappell_Hill_Public_School_and_Chappell_Hill_Female_College_Bell","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5073380"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/washington-county/chappell-hill-public-school-and-chappell-hill-female-college-bell-85000345/"}