Buncombe County Boys' Training School, (Former)
Why it's listed
Built in 1927-1928 on a hilltop west of Asheville, this granite and brick Tudor Revival building was designed by Asheville architect Ronald Greene as the Buncombe County Boys' Training School. It has a slate hip roof, a conical-roofed stair turret, half-timbered detailing and a stone terrace across its front. Construction used prison labor and cost about $100,000. The school was the only county-run juvenile reformatory in North Carolina. Judge Carl B. Hyatt conceived it as a home-like school and farm for boys aged 10 to 16 who had committed minor offenses, as an alternative to jailing youths with adults. Superintendent Robert B. Edwards ran it from 1928 to 1941. Enrollment fell in the early 1940s, and the school closed in 1945. The building then served as the County Home for the Aged and later as a private rest home. Since 1983 it has housed a National Guard training center. The original floor plan and most exterior features survive.
Significance in brief: It is significant under Criterion A for Social History as the only county-operated juvenile reformatory in North Carolina, reflecting early twentieth-century reforms that separated young offenders from adult prisoners and stressed rehabilitation. It is significant under Criterion C for Architecture as a well-preserved example of work by Asheville architect Ronald Greene, built in a loose Tudor Revival interpretation.
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 97001197, listed September 30, 1997. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 177 Erwin Hills Rd., Asheville |
|---|---|
| County | Buncombe County |
| Listed | September 30, 1997 |
| Reference number | 97001197 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1927-1945 |
| Architect / builder | Greene, Ronald, architect |
| Architectural style | Tudor Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Social History, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently houses the North Carolina Military Academy-West, an Army National Guard training center, in use since 1983 after standing unoccupied for about five years. |
| Acreage | 2.8 |
| Coordinates | 35.62069, -82.62302 (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 97001197.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q17986156
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.