Appalachian State University: Chappell Wilson Hall (old High School) - Boone NC

City:: Boone, NC
Site Type:: Schools, Education and Health
New Deal Agencies:: Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs, Civil Works Administration (CWA)
Started:: 1935
Completed:: 1937
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

A high school facility for Boone, NC was constructed in 1935-7* on the campus of what was then known as Appalachian State Teachers College (ASTC)—now Appalachian State University—by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building, known as Appalachian High School or Demonstration High School, is located on Locust Street south of Howard Street.

* Note: Some sources date the project to 1938, though a WPA plaque on the building identifies the years as 1935 to 1937.

AppState.edu: “Chapell Wilson was first known as Appalachian High School until 1965, when the school was merged into Watauga High School and the building was renovated by Appalachian State. Chapell Wilson was the first dean of the Graduate School and professor of psychology and education.”

The building has since been renovated and modified.

Additionally, the Civil Works Administration (CWA) conducted the following project: “Improving playground and building of Boone high school,” several years prior to the construction of the 1935-7 facility.

Source notes

Plaque on building.

"Boondoggling Boomerangs and Blesses," The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, June 04, 1939 (pg. 11): https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/651562494/

https://collections.library.appstate.edu/collections/university-archives-records-management-services/timelines

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3904bm.g3904bm_g063831947/?sp=3

https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/show/9442

https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/historic-preservation-office/survey-and-national-register/surveyreports/WataugaCountySurvey-2003.pdf (pg. 34)

Emergency Relief in North Carolina. A Record of the Development and the Activities of the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration, 1932-1935. North Carolina Emergency Relief Commission, State administrator, Mrs. Thomas O'Berry (pg. 531): https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/emergencyrelief/emergencyrelief.html (accessed Jun. 22, 2022)

Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on June 22, 2022.