Sunbury High School
Why it's listed
Sunbury High School is a two-story brick school built in 1937 on the east side of North Carolina Highway 32 in Sunbury, Gates County. It has a slate roof, a cast-stone belt course, and a seven-bay main block with a classical central entrance. Two long, slightly lower wings give the building a telescoping form. Inside are wide halls, classrooms with movable partition walls, and an auditorium at the rear. The campus also includes a circa 1940 Colonial Revival teacherage, an agricultural building dating to about 1908 that was moved roughly 200 feet when the school was built, a circa 1950 gymnasium, and a circa 1941 pump-house. The school replaced a brick building of about 1924 that state officials judged structurally unsound in 1936. It served Gates County students for decades, and the teacherage reflects the practice of providing affordable housing for teachers. The property is recognized for its role in local education from 1908 to 1959 and for its architecture.
Significance in brief: The school is tied to the history of public education in Gates County from 1908 to 1959. The main building and teacherage are described as excellent local examples of Colonial Revival architecture. The campus also holds an agricultural building predating the current school and a gymnasium from about 1950.
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 09000332, listed May 12, 2009. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 101 NC 32 N., Sunbury |
|---|---|
| County | Gates County |
| Listed | May 12, 2009 |
| Reference number | 09000332 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1908-1959 |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals - Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed current function is vacant; first-floor windows are boarded for security, and the roof of the cafeteria addition has holes. The teacherage was most recently leased to a church as a parsonage. |
| Acreage | 7 |
| Coordinates | 36.44700, -76.59959 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 09000332.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18706072
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.