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34 OMB No. 10240018 NPS Form 10 -900 -a ($-N) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES CONTINUATION SHEET Section a Page 17 Murphey School name of property Orange County. NC rpunty and state A few similar schools still existing in Orange County are comparable to Murphey School. St. Mary's School, still intact, was constructed in 1931 as a Colonial Revival -style school to replace the original log structure (now destroyed). It is located on the east side of SR 1548, =12 miles north of its junction with SR 1002, also in Orange County near Murphey School. It too received a 1936 WPA brick auditorium addition, Neoclassical in style with three bays of twelve- over - twelve sash and four brick pilasters topped with a brick pediment with a central lunette window. The St. Mary's School auditorium is similar to the one located at Murphey School in style and form, but is much less elaborate with fewer striking features. Seven other additions have been constructed on the site since 1931. Due to consolidation with the Hillsborough School system, St. Mary's School closed in 1943 and then reopened in 1970 as a private college preparatory school. Wilson Library (1928 -29) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, along with several other buildings on that campus containing classical porticos, may well have influenced the design of the Murphey School auditorium addition. Another extant example similar to Murphey School in Orange County is the intact White Cross School (c. 1933) located on the north side of NC 54 200 feet west of its junction with SR 1952. It is also of brick construction with four classrooms and a central auditorium space. White Cross School is considerably more modest in design and smaller than Murphey School. its most prominent features are its projecting side wings as well as groups of windows on its elevations. White Cross School contains a recessed porch sheltered by a side - gable roof supported by four wooden posts. A small pediment sits over the central door on the fagade. Three other classroom buildings make up the White Cross School complex Congress established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in April of 1935 to take over the relief programs of the Public Works Administration and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. This agency provided funding for employment projects such as the construction of roads, municipal buildings, schools, and national parks, beautification of cities and towns, and the painting of murals. Badger notes that "From 1935 to 1942 the WPA spent $173.7 million in North Carolina. "2'8 One of ten school projects funded through a WPA grant in Orange County, Murphey School's new auditorium and water system was similar to the treatment at nearby St. Mary's School. New schools constructed in the county with WPA funding included West Hillsboro School, Hillsboro Negro School, and Chapel Hill High School. The remaining six projects, like Murphey School, were given funding for the purpose of constructing an addition and adding technological updates. These schools are: Catrboro School, Aycock School, St. Mary's School, Orange Grove 28 Badger, Anthony, Wh Carolina and the Now Deal, (Raleigh, North Carolina Division of Archives and History, 1981), p. 41.