Konnarock Training School Explained

Konnarock Training School
Designated Other1:Virginia Landmarks Register
Designated Other1 Date:March 19, 1997[1]
Designated Other1 Number:086-0027
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Coordinates:36.6718°N -81.6116°W
Architect:Henry Carl Messerschmidt; R.E.L. Smith
Architecture:Bungalow/craftsman, Rustic
Added:June 5, 1997
Refnum:97000483

Konnarock Training School, also known as Konnarock Lutheran Girls School, is a historic school complex located at Konnarock, Smyth County, Virginia. The main building was built in 1925, and is a -story, 14 bay, hipped roof, Rustic style wood-frame building. It is sheathed in bark shingles and has an attached rear chapel. Also on the property are an American Craftsman-style chestnut bark-shingled bungalow (1936) originally used as the school's Health Center, a collapsed two-car garage, an arbor and a farm complex. The property was original developed by the Lutheran church as a mission to the southern Appalachians. The school closed in 1958, and was later acquired by the Forest Service.[2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

It was restored in 2022 and is now used by the Blue Ridge Discovery Center, a non-profit organization that specializes in educating about nature.[3] [4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 5 June 2013.
  2. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Konnarock Training School. J. Daniel Pezzoni and Leslie A. Giles. September 1996. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
  3. https://cardinalnews.org/2022/07/12/blue-ridge-discovery-center-finds-permanent-home-in-smyth-county/
  4. https://blueridgediscoverycenter.org/master-plan-for-the-future-center