{"nrhp_refnum":"85002770","name":"Old Lyford High School","other_names":["Old Lyford Junior High"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"High School Circle","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lyford","county":"Willacy County","state":"TX","lat":26.410470313000076,"lon":-97.79667067399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, T-plan tawny brick school building with cast-stone trim on High School Circle in Lyford, Willacy County, Texas, constructed in 1923 as the county's first high school.","why_significant":"It was the first building erected solely as a high school in Willacy County, built after a bond election passed 64 to 4. It drew students from surrounding communities and hosted high school graduations from 1924 to 1958. It later served as Lyford Junior High until 1983.","narrative":"Old Lyford High School is a one-story, T-plan building of tawny brick with cast-stone trim, built in 1923 on flat, landscaped ground near the city reservoir in Lyford, Texas. It was the first structure in Willacy County built solely as a high school. The south facade has five bays, with a recessed central entrance framed by an ornamental entablature carved with the school name. The plan held five classrooms in the head of the T and an auditorium in the north wing, which was remodeled in 1958 into classrooms and a teachers' lounge. Voters approved the bond issue 64 to 4, and students from nearby communities such as Sebastian, Turner Tract and Stockholm came by truck. Smith and Kelly prepared the design and Roland Moore built it. The school opened in 1924, hosted graduations until 1958, then served as a junior high until 1983. The district considered demolition in 1982 and 1983 but public support saved it.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1923)","architect_builder":"Roland Moore of Donna, Texas (builder); Smith and Kelly (architects; listed as of Galveston in the form header and San Antonio in the text)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacant; windows boarded up to guard against vandalism and weather damage. Roof replacement was planned for 1985, with later interior work and a possible museum display.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.331557-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/9739/40973979/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/85002770.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002770/82a84deb01-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002770/82a84deb01-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Onleal91","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Lyford_High_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Onleal91</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:Old_Lyford_High_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973979","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Lyford_High_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084401"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/willacy-county/old-lyford-high-school-85002770/"}