Middlebrook High School
Why it's listed
Middlebrook High School, built in 1923 on Route 670 in Middlebrook, is a two-story frame building with a full basement, a hipped metal roof and a front porch copied from the older grade school beside it. The State Board of Education prepared its plans in 1922, and local residents raised funds and supplied much of the labor, with Irvin Swortzel of Middlebrook closely involved in construction. The design gave unusual weight to shared space: an auditorium on the main floor, a gymnasium filling the second floor, and a kitchen and dining hall in the basement, in addition to only four classrooms. It is listed for its local importance as the county's clearest example of a consolidated school serving as a community center, for its customized State plan, and for its place in a surviving school complex that also includes the 1916 grade school and an agricultural shop. The school closed in 1967 and has since been used for storage.
Significance in brief: The nomination finds local significance because it is the county's best illustration of the consolidated school doubling as a community center. Its customized State plan shows the variety in school designs before standardized plans were adopted. With the 1916 grade school and the agricultural shop, it survives as one of the best-preserved early twentieth-century school complexes in the county.
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 85000387, 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 670, Middlebrook |
|---|---|
| County | Augusta County |
| Listed | February 27, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85000387 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Irvin Swortzel |
| Architectural style | Vernacular |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Education, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Used for storage since the school closed in 1967; condition listed as fair and not substantially remodeled. |
| Acreage | 1.3 |
| Within district | Middlebrook Historic District |
| Coordinates | 38.05010, -79.21295 (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 85000387.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14712838
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.