Oran District No. 22 Schoolhouse
Why it's listed
Standing on Route 92 in the hamlet of Oran, in the Town of Pompey southeast of Syracuse, this one-story frame building began as a store and post office around 1830. Before 1860 it was remodeled as a school. It has a mortise-and-tenon timber frame, clapboard siding, a stone foundation that rises a full story at the rear, and a simple Federal-style cornice with gable returns. Inside, a vestibule and cloakroom lead to a classroom with beaded board wainscoting, slate blackboards and restored bench and desk units. The schoolhouse served as a public school until 1951, when it was sold to the Oran Memorial Park Association and became a veterans memorial and community center. It is valued as one of only two intact one-room schoolhouses remaining in Pompey, which once had 26 district schools, and as one of two intact historic buildings left in Oran. It still hosts meetings, a polling place and local clubs.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is one of only two intact nineteenth-century schoolhouses left in the Town of Pompey, out of 26 district schools once serving the town. It represents a century of rural public education and typical mid-nineteenth-century rural school construction. It is also one of only two intact historic buildings remaining in the hamlet of Oran.
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 98001002, listed August 6, 1998. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of Ny 92 and Delphi Rd., Oran |
|---|---|
| County | Onondaga County |
| Listed | August 6, 1998 |
| Reference number | 98001002 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | circa 1830-1951 |
| Architectural style | Early Republic / Federal; Late Victorian / Victorian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used since 1951 as the Oran Memorial Center, a community meeting space and polling place; the form says it retains a high degree of integrity. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.97864, -75.93460 (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 98001002.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7099436
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.