Whitesville School
Blonde brick and tower-like entrance bays give this coalfield junior high a civic presence its Boone County setting rarely offered — Art Deco schoolhouse architecture built for a mining town, not a state capital.
At a glance
The firm Wysong, Bengston & Jones designed the Whitesville School, built in 1931 by the Hill Brothers construction firm along Coal River Road in Whitesville, a small community in West Virginia’s Boone County coalfields. The two-story blonde brick building is a clear example of Art Deco school architecture, distinguished by tower-like formations that rise from its entrance bays through the roofline — a striking design choice for a junior high school in a rural mining district.
Key facts
- Built: 1931
- Architects: Wysong, Bengston & Jones
- Builder: Hill Brothers
- Style: Art Deco
- Also known as: Sherman District Junior High School; Whitesville Junior High School; Whitesville Elementary School
- Address: 37949 Coal River Road, Whitesville, Boone County, West Virginia
- Heritage: NRHP #13000955 (December 18, 2013)
History
Whitesville sits in the heart of West Virginia’s southern coalfields, and its 1931 school building reflects a period when coal-company towns and county school districts invested in substantial civic architecture even in remote mining districts. Built by the Hill Brothers under Wysong, Bengston & Jones’s design, the school has operated under several names over the decades — Sherman District Junior High, Whitesville Junior High, and Whitesville Elementary — reflecting shifting local school district organization more than changes to the building itself.
A later gymnasium and auditorium addition, built on a raised basement, expanded the school’s footprint without altering its original Art Deco entrance architecture. The National Register of Historic Places listed the building in 2013, recognizing both its architectural distinction and its role as an anchor institution in the Coal River Road community.
What you see
The school’s blonde brick facade sets it apart from the red-brick vernacular common to Appalachian coalfield towns, and its entrance bays rise as distinct tower-like forms that punch through the building’s roofline — an unusually vertical, monumental gesture for a rural junior high school. The two-story massing sits on a raised basement, with the later gymnasium/auditorium wing extending the original footprint.
Practical information
- Status: Historic school building — verify current use before visiting
- Best view: From Coal River Road, taking in the tower-like entrance bays
- Photography: Exterior photographable from the public road
Getting there
Whitesville School sits on Coal River Road (WV 3) in Whitesville, Boone County, in the southern West Virginia coalfields. The nearest larger town is Whitesville itself; Charleston, the state capital, is roughly 35 miles north.
Nearby
- Coal River — runs alongside Coal River Road through Whitesville
- Boone County coalfield communities — surrounding the Coal River valley
Sources
- Wikipedia: Whitesville School
- National Register of Historic Places, NRHP #13000955 (December 18, 2013)
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