Halifax Enfield Graded School added to the National Register of Historic Places
Post-World War II, old Sunbury Elementary School continues to deteriorate
May 31, 2009
GATES COUNTY NEWS -- The Enfield Graded School is one of nineteen individual properties and districts across the state of North Carolina added to the National Register of Historic Places. According to the NC Department of Cultural Resources, The proposed properties were reviewed by the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee, and were subsequently approved by the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer and forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register, which agreed with the findings Advisory Committee and approved the historic sites.
The listing of a property in the National Register places no obligation or restriction on a private owner using private resources to maintain or alter the property. Over the years, various federal and state incentives have been introduced to assist private preservation initiatives, including tax credits for the rehabilitation of National Register properties. As of January 1, 2009, 2,159 rehabilitation projects with total estimated expenditures of $1.223 billion have been completed.
In Enfield, Halifax County, a small town in Northeastern North Carolina, one of nineteen individual properties added to the National Register is the Enfield Graded School, which was built in 1950. The Enfield Graded School is a largely intact example of a post-World War II urban school, built on a larger scale and offering a broader curriculum than earlier local schools of the era. Similar to the deteriorating old Sunbury Elementary School located in the center of Sunbury, Gates County, North Carolina. However, the Enfield Graded School was designed by prominent Raleigh architect, Frank B. Simpson with the assistance of Eugene Savage also of Raleigh. The impressive two-story brick building is adorned with a pedimented frontispiece, cast stone Doric pilasters and a tall cupola, marks the entrance pavilion. Additionally, the classroom building incorporates a cafeteria and auditorium, while the historic school complex consists of a gymnasium, agricultural building, music/band building, and athletic fields.
Furthermore, the National Register of Historic Places is our nation's official list of buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts worthy of preservation for their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, and culture. The National Register was established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 to ensure that as a matter of public policy, properties significant in national, state, and local history are considered in the planning of federal undertakings, and to encourage historic preservation initiatives by state and local governments and the private sector. The Act authorized the establishment of a State Historic Preservation Office in each state and territory to help administer federal historic preservation programs. Nevertheless, without community support many historical properties such as the old Sunbury Elementary School, which does have significant value as an example of post-World War II school architecture deteriorates beyond repair only to be demolished and forgotten.
Dr. Jeffrey J. Crow, Deputy Secretary, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources said:
"The National Register is a vital tool in the preservation of North Carolina's historic resources. North Carolina is a leader in the nation's historic preservation movement. When all of the individual buildings in historic districts are counted, it is estimated that North Carolina has approximately 50,000 National Register properties."
Finally, in North Carolina, the State Historic Preservation Office is an agency of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Jeffrey J. Crow, the Department's Deputy Secretary of Archives and History, is North Carolina's State Historic Preservation Officer. The North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee, is a board of professionals and citizens with expertise in history, architectural history, and archaeology, which meets three times a year to advise Dr. Crow on the eligibility of properties for the National Register and the adequacy of nominations. Of course without local community groups actively pursuing efforts to preserve and update the Advisory Committee on their local applicable properties, they will indeed never make the National Register of Historic Places.
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