{"nrhp_refnum":"97001619","name":"Maine Central School","other_names":["J. Ralph Ingalls School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Church St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Maine","county":"Broome County","state":"NY","lat":42.19402572200005,"lon":-76.06380720799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-01-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick Colonial Revival school building on Church Street in the hamlet of Maine, Broome County, New York, completed in 1940 and originally called Maine Central School, later renamed the J. Ralph Ingalls School.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the school is an outstanding example of Georgian Revival school architecture in Broome County and an important work of school architect Gordon Bain Cummings. It also illustrates the school centralization movement, which merged eleven rural districts, and the use of Public Works Administration funds. It reflects period attitudes toward assimilation and American values expressed through Colonial-inspired public buildings.","narrative":"Completed in 1940, this two-story brick school on Church Street in the hamlet of Maine, Broome County, was built as Maine Central School and later renamed for J. Ralph Ingalls, a longtime school board member. It has a steel frame, slate roof, limestone trim, a symmetrical facade and a large wooden portico topped by an octagonal cupola. Inside, an auditorium-gymnasium seating 600 sits at the center, ringed by corridors and classrooms, and many original finishes survive. Binghamton architect Gordon Bain Cummings designed it under the guidance of Dr. Clement G. Bowers, who favored historical references to Colonial landmarks. The school consolidated eleven small rural districts and was funded with Public Works Administration money. It was recognized for its architecture, its role in rural school centralization, and its reflection of period ideas about teaching American values. The property is now listed as vacant.","period_of_significance":"1940","architect_builder":"Gordon Bain Cummings","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed current function is vacant; the form describes the building as retaining virtually complete architectural integrity, with generally low and mostly cosmetic alterations.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.717553-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/97001619.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001619/4537aa0f36-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001619/4537aa0f36-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tkeator","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maine_Central_School.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tkeator</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:Maine_Central_School.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316587","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Central_School","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6736327"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/broome-county/maine-central-school-97001619/"}