Virginia State Seal Virginia Department of Historic Resources

017-5160 Woodlawn School

Woodlawn School
Woodlawn School Home Economics Cottage -- Photo credit: Heather Fearnbach, 2017

*Click on image to enlarge.

For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF

VLR Listing Date 09/20/2018

NRHP Listing Date 01/17/2019

NRHP Reference Number SG100003322

Carroll County’s Woodlawn School, one of its largest and longest-operating educational institutions, served all grades for most of its history, shaping generations of county youth. The 21-acre campus saw construction of the county’s first public high school completed in 1908 and subsequently incorporated into later additions. The school added a home economics cottage for classes beginning in 1916 (pictured above) and an agricultural building behind the school for the state’s first vocational agriculture courses in 1917, part of a federal agricultural education program. Over time its agriculture department offered instruction in farm administration, crop cultivation, fertilization, erosion control, livestock care, and building maintenance and construction, topics all critically important in a rural county with a farming economy. The school’s agricultural curriculum resulted in higher farm yields in Carroll County, as well as crop diversification, and substantial investment in dairy and beef production.

The availability of a wide range of academic and vocational courses at Woodlawn School boosted enrollment and graduation rates as the 20th century progressed and led to additions to the original 1908 two-story, classically-inspired brick school in 1937, 1953, 1962, and 1974 to accommodate changing curricula and student population growth. Woodlawn School operated as the largest of Carroll County’s four intermediate campuses until 2013, when the school closed.


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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark


Updated: August 22, 2022