{"nrhp_refnum":"98001309","name":"Salem School","other_names":["19-5121"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of Rtes. 608 and 632","address_restricted":false,"city":"Red Oak","county":"Charlotte County","state":"VA","lat":36.769531752000034,"lon":-78.63692523199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-10-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Black","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, three-bay frame school building at the northwest corner of Routes 608 and 632 near Red Oak in rural Charlotte County, Virginia, built in 1923-1924 as a four-room elementary school for Black children in the Bacon District.","why_significant":"The school is one of seven Rosenwald schools built in Charlotte County and the only one known to survive. It was funded by the Julius Rosenwald Fund, public money, and land, money, materials and labor from the local Black community. It reflects early 20th-century efforts to improve rural Black education in Southside Virginia, and it is one of the more intact examples of these schools in the state.","narrative":"Salem School is a one-story frame building at a rural crossroads in southern Charlotte County, Virginia. Built in 1923-1924, it served as an elementary school for Black children in the Bacon District, teaching grades one through seven in three classrooms, with a cafeteria and cloakroom. It cost $4,500, paid for by the Julius Rosenwald Fund, the public school boards, and the local Black community, which also gave land, materials and labor. It was one of seven Rosenwald schools in the county and is the only one known to survive. The building keeps its weatherboard siding, nine-over-nine windows, and metal side-gable roof with exposed rafter tails. Original hardwood floors and beaded-board walls remain beneath later coverings. The school closed in 1959 as the county integrated its schools. Salem Baptist Church, which had deeded the land in 1900, now uses the building as a fellowship hall. Its significance rests on education, Black ethnic heritage and architecture.","period_of_significance":"1924-1948","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Good condition; used as a fellowship hall by Salem Baptist Church, which deeded the original school land. The school closed in 1959.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.935311-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/6800/41680069/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/98001309.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001309/5941d50b38-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001309/5941d50b38-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_School_at_Red_Oak.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salem_School_at_Red_Oak.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680069","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_School_(Red_Oak,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713172"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/charlotte-county/salem-school-98001309/"}