George Washington Carver School – Antlers

Address:	6th and C Streets, Antlers, Oklahoma	County:	Pushmataha
Started:		Completed:	1938
Agencies:	WPA	NRHP:	No

Current Usage:

Private Property

Description:

A three room building, the Antlers Negro school is a single story, rectangular (28′ x 64′) structure constructed of untooled and uncoursed native sandstone. Rock selection and placement is excellent. With a composition shingle coverning, the hipped roof has a gable dormer without lights above the centrally placed front entryway. Original windows, which reached to the eaves and rested between concrete sills and lintels, have been replaced by ones more energy efficient. On the northwest corner has been added a small room of brick construction. This addition does not impair the architectural integrity of the building.
This structure was the school building for Antlers blacks before integration. The WPA labor on the project was also black. The building, therefore, is significant because construction of it provided work opportunities for unskilled and unemployed black laborers in the Antlers area, providing a measure of economic security and self esteem. It also created a modern educational environment that promoted an enthusiasm for learning. As an urban WPA school building, the structure is notable for its modest scale, especially when compared with buildings for white students. Within the community it is unique architecturally because of its type (black school), style, scale, materials and workmanship. Indeed, it and other WPA school buildings became the prototype of subsequent buildings constructed from uncut native stone in the Antlers area.

VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: Lot 5, Block 34, Antlers original

Sources:

1. Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination

Supported Documents:

1. WPA Properties Pushmataha County – George Washington Carver School

Photos: