{"nrhp_refnum":"96000883","name":"Marion Township School District No. 3","other_names":["Marion School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"8884 Co. Rt. 236","address_restricted":false,"city":"Findlay","county":"Hancock County","state":"OH","lat":41.038028936000046,"lon":-83.59285496599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-08-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-room, red brick schoolhouse built in 1864 in rural Marion Township, east of Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio. It still stands on its original half-acre site, with two reconstructed privies.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is Marion Township's best surviving example of a one-room school, which was the backbone of rural education in Hancock County. It is the only intact one-room school left of eight in the township in 1878 and one of the county's oldest. It also typifies the simple, functional vernacular design of rural schools and retains a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Built in 1864 in rural Marion Township east of Findlay, this one-room brick schoolhouse sits on a limestone foundation with a standing seam metal roof and a wooden belfry. Three windows line each long side, and two doors open at the east end. It is the only intact one-room school left of eight that stood in the township in 1878, and it ranks among the oldest rural schools still standing in Hancock County. Such schools served farm children in grades one through eight and doubled as community centers for box socials, spelldowns and shared dinners. The school closed in 1936, when the last rural schools in the county shut, and later served as a granary for 36 years. The Hancock County Retired Teachers' Association restored it in 1972-73 after it was donated to the Hancock Historical Museum. It now hosts tours, school field trips and an annual Box Social.","period_of_significance":"1864-1936","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"No style (vernacular one-room school)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Restored in 1972-73 and opened to the public in 1973 as a museum furnished as a school; used for tours, field trips and educational programs.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.519685-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/96000883.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000883/f2a5e74117-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000883/f2a5e74117-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"User:Pepsi2786","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marion_Township_School_District_No._3.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Pepsi2786</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marion_Township_School_District_No._3.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989283","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113563127"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/hancock-county/marion-township-school-district-no-3-96000883/"}