097-0395

Flat Gap High School

VLR Listing Date

12/18/2008

NRHP Listing Date

03/06/2009

NRHP Reference Number

09000123

Wise County’s Flat Gap High School building, which no longer functions as an educational facility, is an important vestige of the educational and social history of the Flat Gap community and the architectural history of the region. The school building was designed in a classically derived but rustic architectural style and constructed in 1935-36, making it among the earliest purpose-built high schools in the county. The new school replaced a prior Flat Gap high school, located about two miles from the new school’s site, that had been a make­shift facility consisting of three one-room buildings used for classrooms. Beyond its educational service, the newer school, as the only public building in the area, provided a social and civic center to the Flat Gap community for several generations. Beginning in 1945, high school students were sent ten miles distant to Pound and the Flat Gap building thereafter served elementary students, grades 1-7, until it closed as a school in 1961.

Last Updated: January 20, 2024

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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

For additional information Read

Nomination Form

101-5013

James A. Bland High School

Wise (County)

164-5003

Appalachia Commercial Historic District

Wise (County)

101-5002

Big Stone Gap Downtown Historic District

Wise (County)