Middlebrook School
Why it's listed
Middlebrook School is a two-story brick school on Route 670 in Middlebrook, Augusta County. It was built in two stages: an L-shaped section in 1916 and a northeast addition in 1919 that completed an eight-room, central-passage plan. Local men, including Blaire and David Weaver and carpenter Mr. Swortzel, worked on it, and community patrons contributed money and labor. Colonial Revival touches include a fanlight over the entrance, symmetrical 6/6 windows and Doric-columned porches, and a hipped standing seam metal roof. Inside, the stair, plaster walls, wood floors, chalkboards and wardrobes survive. The building housed grades one through seven and the high school until the high school moved to a new building in 1923. It served as the grade school until 1967, then became storage. It is regarded as the least altered example of its plan in the county and part of the best-preserved rural school complex there, alongside a 1922 high school and a 1930s agriculture shop.
Significance in brief: It is the least altered example of the eight-room, double-pile, central-passage plan that became the most common large school form in Augusta County in the 1910s. With the 1922 high school and 1930s agriculture shop, it forms the best-preserved rural school complex in the county. It retains its original plan, exterior decoration and interior finish.
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 85000388, listed February 27, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | VA 670, Middlebrook |
|---|---|
| County | Augusta County |
| Listed | February 27, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85000388 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Blaire & David Weaver, Mr. Swortzel |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival/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; unaltered but deteriorated from lack of use (condition listed as fair). |
| 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 85000388.
- 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.