Kelly View School
Also known as: 097-0308
Why it's listed
Kelly View School is a small one-room frame schoolhouse in the coalfields of Wise County, Virginia, now located on the grounds of Appalachia Elementary School. Land for it was conveyed to the county's school trustees in 1892, and photographs from 1923-1924 show it much as it appears today. It has a front gable, wood weatherboards, two-over-two windows, rough-sawn board interior walls, a pot-bellied stove and antique student desks. It had no running water or bathroom, and older boys carried firewood and water. Teachers taught grades one through five or six, sometimes to as many as 36 pupils. The building also served the community: ration books were typed there during World War II, and Sunday worship services were held there from about 1943. It stopped serving as a school around 1959 or 1960 and later housed a church. It was listed as a rare surviving one-room school and as a center of local social life.
Significance in brief: The school is argued to be a rare surviving one-room schoolhouse in the region and the only surviving pre-World War I non-domestic structure in the Kelly View community. It is significant in Education and in Social History, because the building and grounds served as the centre of community life from the late 19th century through much of the 20th century. It hosted classes, wartime ration book preparation and Sunday worship services.
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 06000752, listed August 30, 2006. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Appalachia Elementary School, Norton Rd., US 23, Appalachia |
|---|---|
| County | Wise County |
| Listed | August 30, 2006 |
| Reference number | 06000752 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1892 - c. 1959 |
| Architect / builder | unknown (tradition says Mr. J.J. Kelly built the school) |
| Architectural style | No style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Taken out of service as a school in 1959 or 1960, later used as Kelly View Church, then restored by a former student and his family; the form lists current function as vacant/not in use. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 36.92706, -82.74399 (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 06000752.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15235409
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.