Cherry Spring School
Why it's listed
Cherry Spring School is a small rural school complex on the west side of RM 2323, about twelve miles north of Fredericksburg, Texas. Community members built its 23 by 31 foot limestone schoolhouse in April and May of 1885, after earlier classes had met in private homes. A 1936 pavilion with a stage that doubled as a second classroom, a 1938 barbecue pit, a cistern, a saddle shed and two privies were added later. Almost 400 students and 42 teachers passed through the school before it closed in 1962. Its importance lies in education and community life. Gillespie County's German-settled communities valued schooling, and many rural schools there kept operating into the 1950s and 1960s while also serving as social centers. Cherry Spring remains largely unaltered, with original desks, books, a painted stage curtain and a piano still in place. Its period of significance runs from 1885 to 1955, and it is a well-preserved example of rural education in the county.
Significance in brief: It is nominated under Criterion A in the area of Education at the local level. The school operated from 1885 to 1962 and served as the social center of a dispersed farming and ranching community. It has changed little since the historic period and keeps a high degree of integrity. It is part of Gillespie County's unusually intact collection of rural schoolhouses.
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 05000389, listed May 6, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 5973 RM 2323, Fredericksburg |
|---|---|
| County | Gillespie County |
| Listed | May 6, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05000389 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1885-1955 |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Closed as a school in 1962; now used as a community clubhouse and social center, with little alteration since closing. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 30.46409, -98.94876 (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 05000389.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5092474
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.