{"nrhp_refnum":"89000437","name":"Rock Castle School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Prospect St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Webster","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.05367253500003,"lon":-71.87768431499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-06-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story granite masonry former high school on the west side of Prospect Street in Webster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, built in 1870-1871 and designed by Earle & Fuller of Worcester, with a one-story concrete block north wing added in 1948.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is a well-preserved example of Italianate architecture designed by the prominent firm Earle & Fuller, retaining its plan, granite stonework, arched windows and ornamental entries. It is also tied to Webster's civic development as the town's first permanent high school building and later a grammar and vocational school.","narrative":"Rock Castle School is a two-story granite building on Prospect Street in Webster, Massachusetts. Built in 1870-1871 as Webster High School after a fire destroyed the town's earlier high school quarters, it cost $19,549 and was designed by the Worcester firm Earle & Fuller, with Larned & Chaugh as builders. Its rectangular plan, hipped roof, symmetrical facade with a pedimented central pavilion, arched windows, brick quoins and ornamental entry hoods mark it as an Italianate design. The name Rock Castle came into use after 1888. The building served as the high school until 1905, then as a grammar school into the 1930s, and from 1948 as a vocational annex until 1972. A concrete block wing was added in 1948. In 1985 the building was rehabilitated into apartments. It was listed for its architecture and its link to Webster's civic development.","period_of_significance":"1871-1938","architect_builder":"Earle & Fuller (architect); Larned & Chaugh (builder)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated in 1985 and converted to apartments; formerly used as a school department storage facility.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.184031-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/7973/63797384/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000437.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000437/558e6b9258-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000437/558e6b9258-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WebsterMA_RockCastleSchool.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:WebsterMA_RockCastleSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797384","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Castle_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7354311"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/rock-castle-school-89000437/"}