Sallisaw High School – Sallisaw

Address:	Creek and Walnut Streets, Sallisaw, Oklahoma	County:	Sequoyah
Started:		Completed:	1940
Agencies:	WPA	NRHP:	July 3, 1997

Current Usage:

Burned in 2004 by arson

Description:

This single story with basement 26 room “V” shaped structure measures 280 feet along the sides by 57 feet wide. The construction material is yellow brick laid in running bond. It has a flat roof with parapets capped with tin. The entryway is towered with glass doors and set windows separated by pilasters. The metal sash windows are grouped into bands with concrete sills and concrete lintels above the bands. Brickwork friezes and a water table add decorative relief to the structure.
SIGNIFICANCE: 1940; builder/architect: Joseph I. Davis
Construction of this school boosted the local economy. Wages earned by the laborers for some 114,000 man-hours of effort and infused back into the local economy stimulated economic activity and helped ease the effects of the depression. Construction meant individually that workers could provide for their families with a measure of dignity. The building continues as an exceptional community resource as wages currently earned by teachers and workers are turned back into local businesses helping to generate growth. Even more important is that the school over the past 50 years has provided opportunities for educational excellence. Architecturally the building is unique in style, materials, and scale. Brick WPA buildings are particularly unusual in northeastern Oklahoma.

VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: Block 52, Lots 1 through 4 on the Sallisaw original plat

Coordinates: 35.45693 -94.79163

Sources:

1. Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
2. The Living New Deal
3. National Archives, RG 69 Records of the Work Projects Administration, “Information Service (Primary) File, 1936-1942.”
4. Sallisaw School District History website
5. “Old Sallisaw High School Burns,” Sequoyah County Times, June 9, 2004
6. National Register of Historic Places
7. http://5newsonline.com/2015/09/14/ten-years-after-fire-old-sallisaw-high-school-to-become-city-park/
8. http://newsok.com/article/2908848
9. http://www.enidnews.com/news/state/end-of-hope-one-offender-s-path-to-the-penitentiary/article_69f367d4-57dc-585c-8261-d1048bf5140b.html

Supported Documents:

1. WPA Properties Sequoyah County – Sallisaw High School
2. National Register of Historic Places Support Document
3. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

Photos: