Horace Mann School Buildings – Norfork AR

Description

“The Horace Mann School Historic District contains four contributing buildings and no non-contributing buildings all sited on roughly two acres of land in Norfork, Baxter County, Arkansas.  The City of Norfork now owns the buildings, and the complex was closed for use as a school in the mid-1980s.  The 1936 Main School Building, 1937 Home Economics Building and Agricultural Vocational Education Building, and circa 1940 Gymnasium are all wonderful examples of Works Progress Administration (W. P. A.) and National Youth Administration (N. Y. A.)-built school in Arkansas. Minor alterations have occurred to the 1936 main building and circa 1940 gymnasium; however, the alterations have been sympathetic to the overall architecture and massing of the buildings that the two buildings continue to contribute to the overall appearance of the historic district.  The small district reflects the development of the community and the importance placed on educational and cultural activities by its residents.  The fact that none of the district’s buildings have been removed makes the school very unique, especially in this rural area of the state hit hard by school district consolidation and the desire of many to demolish the old schools.  The Horace Mann School Historic District is being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for its Craftsman style of architecture, and under Criterion A for the educational role it has played in the town of Norfork and for its association with the W. P. A. and the N. Y. A.  It is being nominated with local significance as a good example of an extant school historic district in Norfork, Baxter County, Arkansas.”