Gaston School
Why it's listed
Gaston School is a one-story brick campus in the town of Gaston, Northampton County, North Carolina, built in stages from about 1950 to about 1968. Its flat roofs, metal awning windows, covered walkways and grassy courtyards reflect the Modernist style that was widely used for North Carolina public schools in the 1950s and 1960s. The original high school building dates to about 1950, and a home economics and auto shop building followed around 1952. The gymnasium was completed in 1955 after Hurricane Hazel knocked down part of it in 1954. Additions were built around 1962 and 1968, with a poured concrete cornice with exposed aggregate unifying the later sections. The school is attributed to Wilmington architect Leslie N. Boney, though his involvement in the earlier sections is not confirmed. Gaston School is regarded as a good, intact example of its type in the county. In 1969 a federal court order required transfers of black students from Gumberry High School to Gaston School, which gives the building a place in local desegregation history.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the school is significant for its role in Northampton County's efforts to expand and modernize public education in the 1950s and 1960s, and as a good, intact example of Modernist institutional architecture in a mostly rural county. It is also linked to the county's school desegregation history, including a 1969 federal court order that required transfers of black students to the school.
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 12000215, listed April 11, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 200 School St., Gaston |
|---|---|
| County | Northampton County |
| Listed | April 11, 2012 |
| Reference number | 12000215 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1950-1962 |
| Architect / builder | Boney, Leslie N., architect |
| Architectural style | Modernist |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The school closed as a school around 1990 and was sold to local residents in early 2009, who planned to renovate it as a mixed-use business center. |
| Acreage | 12.1 |
| Coordinates | 36.49669, -77.64641 (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 12000215.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q19461921
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.