Chicora Graded School
National Register Listing
Street Address:
1912 Success Street, North Charleston, SC (Charleston County)
Alternate Name:
Chicora Elementary School
NRHP Nomination Form
Record Number:
S10817710214
Description and Narrative:
Chicora Graded School is a two-story brick building on a raised basement constructed in 1935, with additions built in 1938, 1953, and 1955. The 1938 and 1953 additions are also two-stories on a raised basement and extend out from the rear of the school along the property’s east side, while the one-story 1955 addition wraps around the back corners of the lot forming an ell along the north and east sides of the property. The 1935 and 1938 portions reflect a minimalist take on Classical Revival institutional architecture, while the Modern 1953 and 1955 additions were influenced by the International Style. Chicora Graded School is significant for its association with the history of education in North Charleston. Chicora stands as a rare surviving local example of a school building constructed in the early and mid-twentieth century. The oldest section of the existing building dates to 1935 and formed a major expansion of the original 1921 school building (not extant). Chicora was originally established in 1921 as a public elementary school to provide kindergarten through seventh grade education for the Charleston Heights and Chicora Place neighborhoods. The school served white residents of these two neighborhoods, which developed in response to the expansion of the nearby Charleston Navy Yard. The school was enlarged in the 1930s and 1950s as North Charleston became more industrialized and the navy yard grew, creating more jobs and in turn drawing more families to the area. This created an influx of local school-aged children in the Cooper River School District No. 4. Additions to the school in 1938 were funded through the Public Works Administration. In 1953 and 1955 the South Carolina equalization program also provided funding for further additions as part of their attempt to prove the segregation maxim of “separate but equal.” Chicora Graded School had Black students by 1967 and fully integrated in 1971. The school continued to be one of North Charleston’s largest elementary schools into the 1970s. Until the navy yard’s closure in 1996, many students at Chicora came from families associated with the military base. As most other early and mid-twentieth century schools in North Charleston have been demolished or heavily altered, Chicora Graded School stands as one of the best representations of local educational history for this period. Listed in the National Register May 29, 2026.
Period of Significance:
1935 – 1976
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Education
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
2026-06-29
Date of Boundary Increase:
No Boundary Increase
Location:
North Charleston;Charleston County
