{"nrhp_refnum":"89002262","name":"Webster Rock School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Webster","county":"Jackson County","state":"NC","lat":35.34534355000005,"lon":-83.22306328699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-01-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, E-shaped school building of native river rock on Main Street in Webster, Jackson County, North Carolina, built 1936-38 under the Works Progress Administration. The architect and builder are unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is Jackson County's only known school building constructed under the WPA program and that it was built of indigenous river rock. Its plan follows rural school design ideas of Fletcher Dresslar and Samuel Smith, and it is almost identical to Smith's \"Community School No. 7.\" It reflects Depression-era federal relief and education efforts in western North Carolina.","narrative":"Built between 1936 and 1938 with Works Progress Administration funds, the Webster Rock School is a one-story, E-shaped building of tan and brown river rock with a hip roof. It sits on a small ridge on Main Street in Webster, on the site of an earlier frame school from 1905. The facade has thirteen bays, groups of triple six-over-six windows, and a central entrance pavilion with a segmental stone arch. Inside were eight classrooms, an auditorium and a cafeteria. Its design drew on rural school planning ideas of Fletcher Dresslar and Samuel Smith, emphasizing natural light and simple circulation. The school is listed as Jackson County's only known WPA-built school and for its use of local stone. It served as a grade school and high school, later only as an elementary school, until the county closed it in 1972. Since 1974 it has housed a sheltered workshop and a day care center, and the interior remains little changed since 1938.","period_of_significance":"1936-38","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: WPA style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Closed as a school by the county in 1972; now houses a sheltered workshop and a day care center, with a metal shipping wing added at the rear.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.746725-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/7209/47720954/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/89002262.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002262/e75801d05b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89002262/e75801d05b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"RichardKenni","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Webster_School_1936.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">RichardKenni</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:Webster_School_1936.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720954","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webster_Rock_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7978950"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/jackson-county/webster-rock-school-89002262/"}