Dillon Graded School and Dillon Public School
National Register Listing
Street Address:
405 W. Washington St., Dillon, SC (Dillon County)
Alternate Name:
West School (Dillon Graded School), J.V. Martin Junior High School (Dillon Public School)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817717018
Description and Narrative:
The Dillon Graded School and Dillon Public School complex is significant in the areas of education and architecture. The complex consists of four buildings each with different styles of architecture and corresponding periods of significance, and represents the evolution of
the school architecture in Dillon County, as well as the locality’s commitment to education
through the years. Of particular note is the fact that several schools were continuously placed on
this one plot of land, whereas other county schools were successively abandoned and re-built at
other locations. The period of significance is 1896, when the first school was built, to 1957 when
the cafeteria addition was built. The oldest building on the site is West School, or Dillon Graded School as it was known as during its construction in 1896, and is a unique example of an Italianate style school building. The second and third buildings are the auditorium and gymnasium wings constructed in 1936 and are excellent examples of Depression era Classical Revival architecture. The brick wings were designed by Henry Dudley Harrall, a well known local architect based out of Bennettsville. The final building on the site is the cafeteria and classroom addition to the gymnasium constructed in 1957 in the Modern style and designed by James and Durant of Sumter. There are also seventeen non-contributing resources, including the 1983 classroom building built following a fire at the former 1912 Dillon Public School that destroyed the original central portion of the school. Listed in the National Register September 30, 2014.
Period of Significance:
1896 – 1957;1896;1936;1957
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture;Education
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
September 30 2014
