| Address: | Vicinity of Shawnee, Oklahoma | County: | Pottawatomie |
| Started: | Completed: | 1937 | |
| Agencies: | WPA | NRHP: | No |
Current Usage:
Description:
A fourteen room school, the Bethel school building is a single-story, essentially rectangular (I 59′ x 50′) structure constructed of red brick. The roof is flat with parapets capped with pre-formed concrete blocks. The two front entryways are recessed behind arcade-type enclosures. The casement windows, set by twos, have brick sills and continuous lintels of soldier bricks. Brick additions at the east end and the northwest corner, and enclosure of one side entryway, have not compromised the integrity of the structure.
The Bethel School is significant because construction of it provided employment for laborers, many of whom had been out of work for over a year. The value of the WPA in the promotion of learning is evident from the fact that the building is still being used as a school today. The school building is unique because of type, style, scale, and workmanship. The arcade-like entryways are particularly significant when compared to other WPA-constructed schools and within the community of Bethel.
VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: Located five and one-half miles west of Shawnee, the property begins at a point 208 feet west of the SW corner of Sec. 20, T 10 N, R 3 E, and goes north 208 feet, east 416 feet, south 208 feet and west 416 feet.
Sources:
- Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
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