Old Stroud School – Stroud

Address:	1 MILE EAST OF JCT OF I 44 AND SH 99	County:	Lincoln
Started:		Completed:	1936
Agencies:	WPA	NRHP:	September 18, 1997

Current Usage:

Being renovated

Description:

The first town of Stroud was established in 1892. Six years later, the St. Louis and San Francisco (Frisco) Railway sought to acquire land in the area to lay track for a line from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City. Due to the resistance of a land owner, the line was shifted one mile east. To exploit the benefits offered by the railroad to the utmost, the town relocated one mile east as well. 1 However, components of the old Stroud continued to develop, including the original school. The Old Stroud School district organized in 1893 with a crude, frame building being constructed at that time. An addition was constructed on the original school building in 1902. By 1919, bonds were voted for construction of a new building. On 7 January 1936, the second schoolhouse burned to the ground. Within three months, the WPA allocated funds for construction of a new stone building. The construction of the new building produced not only needed jobs for local men but also increased the economic viability of the immediate area. This in turn fortified the state and national economies. The building project further resulted in an improved educational facility which increased the quality of education in Lincoln County while also providing an enhanced space for local community events. The Old Stroud School remained in use as a school until 1947, when Old Stroud District 53 was consolidated with Stroud District 54. Subsequently the school was purchased by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, who utilized the building as an office for a time. (1)

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed the Old Stroud School in 1936. Located just outside of the city limits of Stroud, Oklahoma, the school is one mile from State Highway 99 and less than a mile from State Highway 66. Built in the WPA Standardized style, the two-room school exhibits many representative WPA features. These include use of native stone for construction material, a brick chimney, ribbon windows and paired windows. The rectangular, one-story building is topped by an asphalt covered, side-gable roof with a center dropped cross gable porch. The walls are constructed of polychromatic native stone with a concrete foundation. The gabled porch contains the building’s  primary entrance, two single wood paneled doors with transoms. Another entrance on the west side has a single wood paneled door covered by a shed roof. The wood, double hung, nine-over-nine windows have been boarded over. The building’s decorative details include a cornerstone, transom windows,  extended eaves, gable returns, double wood porch columns and paired and ribbon windows. There is  one contributing and three noncontributing resources within the school’s boundaries. To the east of the  school building is a contributing, concrete cellar. Northwest of the school is a noncontributing cinder  block building and to the south is a noncontributing basketball court. A noncontributing chainlink fence encircles the school. The Old Stroud School has undergone only minor alterations and, therefore, maintains its integrity to a fairly high degree.[2]

Sources:

1. Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination

Supported Documents:

1. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

Photos: