{"nrhp_refnum":"98000636","name":"Lincoln High School","other_names":["Anderson County Community Council Community Center"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"920 W. Swantz St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palestine","county":"Anderson County","state":"TX","lat":31.75582270900003,"lon":-95.64080128399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Lincoln High School is a 2-story brick Classical Revival school building at 920 W. Swantz Street in Palestine, Anderson County, Texas, built in 1922-23 by the firm Rountree & Skelton, with a gymnasium and classrooms added in 1937-38.","why_significant":"It is the last remaining school in Palestine built exclusively for African American students, and it served that community for over fifty years. It is significant under Criterion A for ethnic Black heritage and under Criterion C as a noteworthy example of early 20th century institutional architecture. The brick construction marked a dramatic departure from the frame schools previously provided to the Black community.","narrative":"Lincoln High School at 920 W. Swantz Street in Palestine, Texas, is a two-story brick school with Classical Revival elements, a symmetrical facade, small porticoes and a dentiled brick parapet. The school board ordered it built in 1922 after fire destroyed the earlier frame high school for African American students. The local firm Rountree and Skelton completed the six-room building for just over $21,000, and classes began in January 1923. A 1934 annex and a 1937-38 gymnasium designed by Theodore S. Maffitt followed as enrollment grew. It was the city's only high school for Black students until a new one opened in 1953, after which it served as a junior high and elementary school until 1970. Today it is the last remaining school in Palestine built for the African American community, and its brick construction marked a major shift from earlier frame schools. A community council now uses it for social services and is renovating it slowly.","period_of_significance":"1922-1945","architect_builder":"Rountree & Skelton, builders (1922-23); Maffitt, Theo S., architect (1937)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Now houses the Anderson County Community Council, which provides social services and is slowly renovating the building; described as in only fair condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.284385-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/9678/40967884/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/98000636.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40967884","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001118"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/anderson-county/lincoln-high-school-98000636/"}