Perry School (Additional Documentation)
Why it's listed
Perry School is a school campus in rural northeast Franklin County, North Carolina, built to educate African American children. The county constructed the 1941 frame Colonial Revival building with Public Works Administration funds after a fire destroyed an earlier Rosenwald school on the site. Its design follows the Rosenwald Fund's Nashville Plan for a six-teacher school with auditorium, and M. Stuart Davis served as supervising architect. A 1949 concrete block wing and a 1952 one-story modernist brick high school, designed by the Raleigh firm Holloway, Weber, and Reeves, were added as enrollment grew. A gymtorium followed in 1963 after years of parent urging. The campus is significant for its role in African American education and social history, as one of few intact Jim Crow-era schools in the county. It closed in 1968 when a lawsuit led the county to integrate its schools. It also illustrates how school architecture shifted from Colonial Revival to modernism. The Perry's School Alumni acquired it in 2006.
Significance in brief: The school served African American students in Franklin County from 1941 until it closed in 1968 under court-ordered integration. It is one of a few intact Jim Crow-era schools in the county. Its 1941 building is a Colonial Revival example based on a Rosenwald Fund plan, and its 1952 high school reflects mid-century modernist school design.
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 10001110, listed January 3, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2226 Laurel Mill-Centerville Road., Centerville |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | January 3, 2011 |
| Reference number | 10001110 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1941-1968 |
| Architect / builder | Marion Stuart Davis (Architect); Holloway-Reeves (Architect); Holloway, Weber, and Reeves (Architect) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival and Modern Movement |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education, Black, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Franklin County Board of Education sold the property in 2006 to the Perry's School Alumni; the school closed in 1968. |
| Acreage | 14.7 |
| Coordinates | 36.19167, -78.12610 (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 10001110.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18640019
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.