Penn, William, High School
Also known as: High Point Normal & Industrial Institute
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Why it's listed
Three buildings on a tree-shaded plot along Washington Drive in High Point, North Carolina, form the surviving campus of the High Point Normal and Industrial Institute, later renamed William Penn High School. The institute began in 1891 when the New York Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends transferred its Negro school in Asheboro to the city. Students built much of the campus themselves, including Congdon Hall in 1901, and the school grew from frame structures into a brick complex. The largest surviving building is a two-story Colonial Revival structure with a pedimented entrance and an auditorium, remodelled and enlarged around 1930. Two one-story industrial-type buildings housed manual training. The school became a city public high school in 1923 and served the black community until it closed in 1968 after integration. Its academic courses ran alongside vocational training, and many graduates went on to teach others of their race. The buildings are significant for their role in black education in High Point and their Quaker philanthropic origins.
Significance in brief: The buildings are major community landmarks tied to the history of black people in High Point and to black education in the region. The school was founded through Quaker philanthropy and served the city's black community for decades. The two industrial-type buildings housed the manual training curriculum, and the nomination argues the school meets Criterion A for its associations with black education, Quaker philanthropists and broad patterns of High Point history.
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 78001959, listed November 16, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Washington Dr., High Point |
|---|---|
| County | Guilford County |
| Listed | November 16, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78001959 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival (main school building); the two industrial-type buildings have no stated style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vandalized over the preceding nine years and threatened with demolition at the time of nomination; the school closed in 1968. |
| Acreage | 6.5 |
| Coordinates | 35.96216, -79.99715 (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 78001959.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18705999
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.