The Fourth Ward School is an historic 4-story

mansard A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

-roofed former public

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

building located at 537 South "C" Street in

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno, Nevada, Reno–Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Reno, NV Metropolitan ...

. Designed in 1876 by architect C. M. Bennett in the Second Empire style of architecture, it was designed to accommodate over 1000 students in grades 1 though 9, it was divided into three departments: ''primary ''(grades 1 though 4); ''second grammar'' (grades 5 though 7) and ''high school'' (grades 8 and 9). Grades 10 & 11 were added in 1877 and a senior year as added by 1909. It featured many modern conveniences, such as... Indoor plumbing with indoor flush toilets, hand washing sinks, and drinking fountains, as well as indoor gas lighting and central heat. The School graduated its last class in 1936, after which its students were moved to a new school built by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

. The building then fell into disrepair and remained closed until 1986 when it was reopened as the Historic Fourth Ward School Museum. The museum features exhibits including the Vintage Classroom, Comstock Lode history, Alumni, a changing gallery which offers new exhibits every year to two years, Printing & Mark Twain

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

’s life, and Modern Mining and Minerals. This school house is the last one standing in the US of this design and architecture built of wood. It is also a White House designated "American Treasure". The Fourth Ward School is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in the Virginia City Historic District which was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1961 and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1966.

References

External links

Official websiteHistoric Marker Data Base listing for Fourth Ward School
* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Virginia City, Nevada 1876 establishments in Nevada School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada Education museums in the United States History museums in Nevada Museums in Virginia City, Nevada Historic American Buildings Survey in Nevada Historic district contributing properties in Nevada National Register of Historic Places in Storey County, Nevada Neoclassical architecture in Nevada Second Empire architecture in Nevada Works Progress Administration in Nevada