{"nrhp_refnum":"89000325","name":"North Carolina School for the Deaf Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. US 70 and US 64","address_restricted":false,"city":"Morganton","county":"Burke County","state":"NC","lat":35.729783512500035,"lon":-81.68804591447702,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-04-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district on part of the North Carolina School for the Deaf campus in Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina, with 19 buildings and structures built between ca. 1891 and ca. 1939 on about 68 acres.","why_significant":"The district is significant in social/humanitarian history and education as the state's first separate, state-supported school for deaf children, known nationally for progressive teaching methods. It is also tied to superintendent Dr. Edward McKee Goodwin and holds architecturally notable buildings, led by Augustus Bauer's high-Victorian Main Building.","narrative":"This historic district covers the older core of the North Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton. Nineteen buildings and structures sit on about 68 acres, fourteen of them contributing. They were built between ca. 1891 and ca. 1939 around a broad, tree-shaded lawn below Spa Hill. The centerpiece is the E-shaped brick Main Building with its clock tower, designed by Augustus Bauer in a high-Victorian style. Later buildings include Colonial Revival and Romanesque Goodwin Hall, the eclectic Hoey Hall of 1939 designed by Charles C. Benton, the Superintendent's Residence, an infirmary, staff housing and a farm complex with a large gambrel-roofed barn. The school opened in 1894 after a campaign led by Dr. Edward McKee Goodwin to separate education of the deaf from that of the blind. He served as superintendent until 1937. The school became nationally known for its modern campus and progressive teaching, and the district preserves the original arrangement of its buildings and setting.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1891-ca. 1939","architect_builder":"Augustus Bauer, Charles C. Benton","architectural_style":"High Victorian (Main Building), with Colonial Revival, Romanesque and eclectic Art Deco/Gothic/Classical buildings","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Condition rated good to fair; the campus remains an operating school with modern buildings behind the historic ones. The Main Building's original wooden porches have been removed and its interior greatly remodeled.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.656772-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/58/7173/47717358/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/89000325.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717358","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/burke-county/north-carolina-school-for-the-deaf-historic-district-89000325/"}