Address: | Commercial and Gibson Streets, Webbers Falls, Oklahoma | County: | Muskogee |
Started: | Completed: | 1937,1939 | |
Agencies: | WPA | NRHP: | No |
Current Usage:
Description:
This H-shaped building is the result of two WPA projects and along the front measures some 136 feet, while along the west side it measures 91 feet. It is constructed of very large uncut native stone of deep auburn colors laid randomly. The roof is flat with parapets. The two front entryways are recessed behind archways, the facades of which extend to triangular arches above the roof line. For decorative effect a second arch extends from the facade of the first. The windows are arranged in threes or in pairs with concrete sills on the front. On the sides they are in bands that extend to the level of interior ceilings. There is a concrete block addition on the south side of the structure, and on the east side there is a pre-existing (1907) auditorium. These alterations and additions have impeached, although not seriously, the general integrity of the building. There is a splendid WPA built fence along the north front of the school grounds.
This school is significant because it constituted an economically important community resource. Its construction provided local families with wages for more than 40,000 man-hours of labor which were infused back into the depressed local economy. Jobs generated by the construction of the school restored a sense of pride to many men who might otherwise have been unable to provide for their families. Architecturally, the school is unique in terms of it vernacular style and the large size of the rock used in its construction. It also provided educational opportunities for children theretofore deprived educationally, opportunities that are still available almost one-half a century later.[1]
VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: Block 24, Lots 1, 2, and 3, Webbers Falls Original.
Sources:
- Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
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