The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

March 15, 2013

Group wants Stratton on historic registry

By Sarah Plummer Register-Herald Reporter

At Tuesday’s Raleigh County Board of Education meeting, members of the public announced they are hoping to have Stratton Elementary School placed on the National Register of Historic Paces.

Robert W. Simmons, a member of the Raleigh County branch of the NAACP and the Stratton Alumni Association, asked the board for permission to take pictures of the interior and exterior of both Stratton Elementary and what was once the Stratton Vocational School to send to the State Historic Preservation Office, an arm of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

Simmons also asked the board for a list of all alterations, additions and construction dates for the structure.

Stratton Elementary School was originally Stratton High School, a historically black high school, and was built in the art deco architectural style.

Very little alteration, with the exception of signage, has been done to the structure over the years, making it a prime candidate for inclusion on the list.

Simmons said the West Virginia Division of Culture and History has indicated the structure, and the neighboring old vocational school, may be eligible for listing in the National Register under Criterion A: Education and Ethnic History.

BOE vice president Larry Ford said the board could not vote Tuesday to grant approval but would take Simmons’ requests under consideration.

The Raleigh County Board of Education will next meet March 26 at 5:30 p.m.

— E-mail: splummer@register-herald.com

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