Glebe Schoolhouse
Why it's listed
Glebe Schoolhouse is a small brick one-room school dating to about 1830, set on the east side of a ridge between Middle River and Back Creek in western Augusta County. It has a simple gable-end form, a single door in the east end, and three nine-over-six windows along each side wall. The brick walls use irregular American bond with a Flemish variant, and a gable-end chimney supplied heat. A December 1830 deed describes a brick building recently erected under three trustees for use as a neighborhood school and for religious meetings. The Thompson family built it as a private school; the county later bought it and ran it as a free school until the early twentieth century, when it was consolidated into a two-room school called Swanson. It later became a dwelling, and a frame ell was added. It is valued as the county's only surviving brick one-room school, its oldest documented schoolhouse, and one of few private ones.
Significance in brief: It is the only surviving brick one-room schoolhouse in Augusta County, the oldest documented schoolhouse, and one of the few surviving private schoolhouses. It was built under trustees in 1830 for neighborhood schooling and religious meetings, later bought by the county as a free 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 85000386, listed February 27, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | VA 876, Summerdean |
|---|---|
| County | Augusta County |
| Listed | February 27, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85000386 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Vernacular |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as vacant, in fair condition and altered; after closing as a school it was remodeled into a dwelling and a frame ell was added. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 38.11024, -79.22107 (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 85000386.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14712364
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.