{"nrhp_refnum":"99000582","name":"Jess Valley Schoolhouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Cty. Rd. 64","address_restricted":false,"city":"Likely","county":"Modoc County","state":"CA","lat":41.26712409900006,"lon":-120.31128360399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-05-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-room wood-frame schoolhouse on a one-acre parcel near Soup Creek, about 12 miles east of Likely in Jess Valley, Modoc County, California. It was built in 1900 by Orville and Gus Sweeney.","why_significant":"The school was the only elementary school in remote Jess Valley from 1900 until it closed in 1939 for lack of attendance. It also served as the valley's only public meeting place, hosting dances, potlucks, church services and public meetings, giving it local significance in education and social history.","narrative":"Jess Valley Schoolhouse is a one-room, front-gabled wood-frame building measuring 19 by 32 feet, set on a grassy slope near Soup Creek in a remote part of Modoc County, California. Built in 1900 by Orville and Gus Sweeney on land donated by the Walter Brooks family, it has white-painted pine tongue-and-groove siding, six-over-six windows, and separate front doors and cloakrooms for boys and girls. The original shake roof has been replaced with tin. For nearly four decades it was the only elementary school in Jess Valley, serving the children of ranching families who often rode horses to class. When attendance dropped, the school closed in 1939 and its district merged with the Likely South Fork district. The building also acted as the valley's community center, hosting dances with piano and fiddle, potluck dinners, occasional church services and public meetings. Though dilapidated and now vacant, it remains largely unchanged and is recognized for its role in local education and community life.","period_of_significance":"1900-1937","architect_builder":"Built by Orville and Gus Sweeney (who probably also designed it); the significance form lists the architect/builder as Unknown","architectural_style":"No style","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Described as dilapidated, with a badly deteriorated front porch, but looking basically as it did during the period of significance; current function listed as vacant.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.996989-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/99000582.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000582/0e163b9368-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000582/0e163b9368-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ian Poellet","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jess_Valley_Schoolhouse_-_Likely_California.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ian Poellet</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:Jess_Valley_Schoolhouse_-_Likely_California.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859869","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_Valley_Schoolhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85771120"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/modoc-county/jess-valley-schoolhouse-99000582/"}