Laurel Industrial School Historic District Explained

Laurel Industrial School Historic District
Nrhp Type:hd
Nocat:yes
Designated Other1:Virginia Landmarks Register
Designated Other1 Date:October 15, 1985[1]
Designated Other1 Number:043-0292
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Location:N & S sides of Hungary Rd. W of Old Staples Mill Rd., in Laurel, Virginia
Coordinates:37.6431°N -77.5103°W
Built:1892
Architecture:Colonial Revival, Romanesque, Georgian Revival
Added:June 12, 1987
Refnum:87001149

The Laurel Industrial School Historic District is a 6acres historic district near Laurel, Virginia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, at which time it included five contributing buildings.[2]

The district may be affected by the DC2RVA high-speed rail proposal.[3]

History

In 1890, the Laurel Industrial School was established to "offer wayward boys an alternative to imprisonment".[4] It was Henrico County's first public school, and it later became the Virginia Industrial School. Its complex consisted of two dormitory buildings, one of which is still standing; an administrative building; and multiple farm buildings. The community remained active when the reformatory was moved during the period of 1920–1922 to its present location as the Beaumont Learning Center in Powhatan County. The Laurel Industrial School Historic District is listed on the Virginia Historical Landmarks Register and was added in 1987 to the National Register of Historic Places.

Architecture

The Main building, or Robert Stiles building, was built in the Romanesque-Revival-Victorian style.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 5 June 2013.
  2. Web site: Sara Amy Leach . National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Laurel Industrial School Historic District . 1984 . 2010-05-08 . Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. and Accompanying photo at Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission, undated and Accompanying map
  3. Web site: July 2019 . RECORD OF DECISION ATTACHMENT A: FINAL SECTION 106 MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT . 24.
  4. Web site: History of Laurel. 2022-01-03. laurelgalleryrva.com.
  5. Web site: 2013. An Opportunity to Reform: The Laurel Industrial School and the History of Juvenile Corrections in Henrico. January 4, 2022. Henrico TV.