Shiloh School
Also known as: DHR File No. 66-34
Why it's listed
Shiloh School is a one-room frame schoolhouse built in 1906 on a one-acre lot in the Ball Neck area of Northumberland County, Virginia. It measures 20 by 34 feet, has three bays, weatherboard siding, a standing seam metal roof and a brick pier foundation. Its side-gable form with an exterior chimney on the north wall is unusual among the county's one-room schools. Local men built it under trustee Elliott F. Kent, using lumber cut and milled on the adjoining Diller property. It replaced a smaller Reconstruction-era school of the same name. Jessie Ball, later the philanthropist Jessie Ball duPont, taught there in 1906 and 1907. The school closed in 1929 and was later used for farm storage, which spared it from conversion to homes or businesses. Its interior still shows where blackboards hung. It is recognized as the county's only unaltered surviving example of this early rural school type and is being rehabilitated for community use.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is the only remaining unaltered example of the many one-room schools built in Northumberland County in the early years of public education. Its side-gable, axial-front form is unusual among the county's one-room schools. Jessie Ball, later the philanthropist Jessie Ball duPont, taught there in 1906 and 1907.
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 91001976, listed January 22, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of VA 605 and VA 606, Kilmarnock |
|---|---|
| County | Northumberland County |
| Listed | January 22, 1992 |
| Reference number | 91001976 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1906-1907 |
| Architect / builder | Kent, Elliot F. |
| Architectural style | No style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function listed as work in progress; the building is being rehabilitated for community use by Northumberland Preservation, Inc. Earlier used for farm storage. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 37.76828, -76.33043 (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 91001976.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14713203
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.