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�/j P 3 3 f/ Y 1024 -0018 NPS Form 10- 90ti -a ♦ �„ E3t+A8 No. (8-M) United States Department of the interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Section 8 Page 16 Murcahey School name of property Orange County. NC county and state Architecture Context Murphey School is one of two early consolidated elementary schools surviving in Orange County. In his manuscript for the Orange County survey publication, architectural historian Richard Mattson states of Murphey School, "..,Murphy School clearly illustrates how the construction of centralized rural schools and better roads went hand in hand after World War U25 Early schools in Orange County, including those constructed during the antebellum era through the late nineteenth century, typically were one or two room log or frame buildings. With consolidation came new standards for school buildings including materials that were durable and permanent, steam heat, indoor plumbing, and standardized plans and designs. Generally, consolidated schools were much larger in size with a more diverse range of facilities beyond general classroom space such as an auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria space, library, and lavatories. Murphey School reflects these statewide trends for school buildings within the greater consolidation movement.26 Common to consolidated school buildings during the 1920s, Murphey School contains Spanish Revival- and Classical Revival -style elements with its symmetrical facade and striking Neoclassical -style auditorium (1936) with a Doric portico. Wide bands of windows dominate the facade and brick pilasters flank the corners of the main building. Murphey School is constructed of a brick veneer over a wood frame structure, with an unusual hipped roof of metal shingles designed to imitate terra cotta tiles. Murphey School reflects influences of the Spanish Revival style popular during the 1920s through its metal terra cotta- imitation roof as well as its wrought iron hardware and central arched windows. The Classical Revival style grew prevalent during the 192 0s and particularly during the Great Depression, when the nation embraced a return to former period styles iconic of solidarity and stability. Architectural historian and author Catherine Bishir notes a connection between the support of these styles and the national political scene: "In North Carolina and throughout the South, this emphasis on efficient and orderly planning and on classical and colonial styles meshed conveniently with white Democrats' triumphant return to the old political order." 27 25 Mattson, Richard L. `History and Architecture of Orange County, N.C.,' (Raleigh: State Historic Preservation Office, 1996), p. 61-62. 26 Orange County Survey Reports, "Historic Resources of orange County," Orange County Multiple Property Documentation Form, (Raleigh: State Historic Preservation Office, 1993), p. 21 -22, 39-43, 79. Handbook for Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1938. publication no. 206. Raleigh: State Superintendent of Public instruction, Prepared by Division of instructional Service, p. 13-25. 27 Bishir, Catherine. North Carolina Architecture. (chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990), p. 430, 457 -470.