{"nrhp_refnum":"88000711","name":"No. 4 Schoolhouse","other_names":["Christian Hill School","East School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Farrington Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Barre","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.44554154000008,"lon":-72.08438188699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-room district schoolhouse built in 1883 on Farrington Road in Barre, Massachusetts, about two miles northeast of Barre Center. It is a 1 1/2-story wood-frame building on a 1.5-acre lot, built by contractor James H. Potter.","why_significant":"It is the only intact surviving district school of the seventeen built in Barre. It is an unusually well-preserved example of the schoolhouses used in the district systems of nineteenth-century rural Massachusetts. It was nominated under Criteria A and C at the local level, for education and architecture, and the form notes archaeological potential on the lot.","narrative":"District No. 4 Schoolhouse in Barre, Massachusetts, is a one-room, wood-frame school built in 1883 on Farrington Road. The 1 1/2-story building rests on a granite foundation, with a projecting central bay enclosing a raised recital area and separate boys' and girls' coatrooms. James H. Potter built it for $1,200 after townspeople complained that the earlier brick school was shabby and condemned. Its plans were a scaled-down version of the District No. 12 School at Barre Plains. It taught children of northeast Barre, including Irish, Italian and Polish families, until it closed in 1930 as farm consolidation reduced the rural population. The No. 4 Community Club bought it in 1937, added a kitchen shed, and still uses it for reunions, fairs and suppers. It is the only intact survivor of Barre's seventeen district schools, and it retains its original design, materials and workmanship. The lot may also hold archaeological remains such as privies and refuse deposits.","period_of_significance":"1881-1937 (amended by the Keeper; 1883 should be the beginning date)","architect_builder":"James H. Potter","architectural_style":"Late Victorian","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Since 1937 it has served as a civic center for the No. 4 Community Club, hosting reunions, meetings, fairs, craft shows and suppers.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.731639-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/30/7975/63797530/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/88000711.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000711/74d4285a27-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000711/74d4285a27-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BarreMA_SchoolhouseNumber4.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</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:BarreMA_SchoolhouseNumber4.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797530","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._4_Schoolhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7043553"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/no-4-schoolhouse-88000711/"}