{"nrhp_refnum":"95001399","name":"Library and Laboratory Building-Henderson Institute","other_names":["Henderson Institute Historical Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Rock Spring St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Henderson","county":"Vance County","state":"NC","lat":36.33841600100004,"lon":-78.40213264199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-11-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Black"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A plain two-story brick Colonial Revival library and laboratory building, built in 1928 on Rock Spring Street in Henderson, Vance County, North Carolina. It is the only surviving building of the Henderson Institute.","why_significant":"The Henderson Institute, founded in 1887 by the Freedmen's Mission Board of the United Presbyterian Church, was the only secondary school open to African Americans in Vance County until integration began in 1970. The building is the last remnant of the campus and symbolizes the role of education in the local African American community. Alumni saved it from demolition and turned it into a museum.","narrative":"Built in 1928, this two-story brick building on Rock Spring Street in Henderson is the only surviving structure of the Henderson Institute, a school established in 1887 by the Freedmen's Mission Board of the United Presbyterian Church. Its first floor held a chemistry laboratory and its second floor a library and reading room. The Institute was the only secondary school open to African Americans in Vance County until integration began in 1970, offering academic, vocational, nurse and teacher training. After the school closed, the county school board demolished the other campus buildings. When it prepared to remove this last one, alumni won permission in 1983 to restore it. Work continued until 1991, including a matching brick addition completed in 1986. The building opened in 1986 as the Henderson Institute Historical Museum, which also serves as an archive. Its plain Colonial Revival design retains original brick, plaster, wainscot and stairs, and the building remains a symbol of the Institute for the community.","period_of_significance":"1928-1945","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Restored 1983-1991 and in use as the Henderson Institute Historical Museum and archive; a 1986 rear addition was built.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:49.851893-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/29/7224/47722429/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/95001399.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95001399/2e35fdf820-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95001399/2e35fdf820-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henderson_Institute_Library.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henderson_Institute_Library.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722429","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_and_Laboratory_Building-Henderson_Institute","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19986789"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/vance-county/library-and-laboratory-building-henderson-institute-95001399/"}