Cave Spring High School
Why it's listed
Built in 1922 on eight acres along Rome Street, Cave Spring High School is a one-story, H-shaped school of stuccoed brick on brick foundations. Each long arm of the "H" has a raised central pavilion with paired pilasters and round-arched windows flanking a round-arched entry, while the end pavilions carry Palladian window motifs. Corridors cross at the center and are lined with classrooms and offices. Lockwood & Roundstone designed it, and J.F. Dupree Sons Co. built it for the City of Cave Spring. The building was considered significant because it brought an early-20th-century approach to school design to a town of 19th-century educational buildings, with a low, spread-out plan and very large windows. Renaissance-inspired details tie that modern layout to older architectural traditions. It was also the first new school built after local public schools were consolidated in the early 1920s. The main building is largely unaltered, though rear additions, playgrounds and parking areas have been added over time.
Significance in brief: The form argues the school is architecturally significant as an early-20th-century "modern" educational building in a town dominated by 19th-century school buildings, with a spread-out, one-story plan and large windows. Its Renaissance detailing links the modern design to architecture of the past. In education terms, it was the first new school built after the consolidation of the public schools in the early 1920s.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80001032, listed June 19, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Rome St., Cave Spring |
|---|---|
| County | Floyd County |
| Listed | June 19, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80001032 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Lockwood & Roundstone, architects; J.F. Dupree Sons Co., contractor |
| Architectural style | One-story "ranch house" style plan with Renaissance detailing (Palladian window motif, round-arched windows, paired pilasters) |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | In current use as a school; described as in good condition, with newer non-historic classrooms and athletic facilities added to the rear. |
| Acreage | 7.3 |
| Coordinates | 34.11047, -85.33535 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80001032.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.