Tuttle Square School
Also known as: Auburn Center School; Auburn District #1 School; South Street Annex
Why it's listed
Built in 1922 as Auburn's District #1 or Center School, this one-story, hip-roofed building at 41 South Street has two classrooms and a projecting gabled entrance pavilion with a Federal-style doorframe. Designed by Worcester architect Harry L. Meacham in the Arts and Crafts manner, it has broad eaves with exposed rafters, a fieldstone foundation and wood shingle walls that replaced the original stucco in 1953. Inside, original door and window frames, bookcases, cloak closets and pressed metal ceilings survive, though the classrooms have been subdivided. The school replaced a one-room school that had served the area for generations, and it later was known as the South Street Annex. It is the only surviving two-room school in Auburn and still stands on its original site. After its school years it housed a nursing association and then stood vacant before the town leased it to the local historical society for use as a museum. Its significance rests on education, local public health, and architecture.
Significance in brief: The school is significant for its role in local public education and in public health, since the building later housed a nursing association. It is the only surviving two-room school of its kind in Auburn and remains on its original site with most original features intact. It is also a well-preserved example of the Arts and Crafts style and an early work of Meacham.
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 02000129, listed March 8, 2002. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 41 South St., Auburn |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | March 8, 2002 |
| Reference number | 02000129 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1922-1951 |
| Architect / builder | Harry L. Meacham, Worcester, MA |
| Architectural style | Late 19th & Early 20th Century/Craftsman-Colonial Revival (described in the text as Arts and Crafts) |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant for several years in the late 1990s; leased in 1999 to the Auburn Historical Society, which was planning to restore and adapt it as a history museum. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.19145, -71.83453 (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 02000129.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7857028
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.