Moorefield School

The Moorefield School in Moorefield (Independence County) was constructed around 1939 by the National Youth Administration (NYA), a Depression-era federal relief agency. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 4, 1992.

Located four miles east of Batesville (Independence County), Moorefield had a school system separate from that of its larger neighbor, and in early 1939, the district received funding from the NYA for construction of a new school building. The project started in the spring of 1939 and apparently continued into 1940, as the 1938–39 NYA annual report for Arkansas listed it as an active project.

The completed building is a rectangular, single-story structure that includes features of the Craftsman style of architecture. The building has parapeted entry porches on its west and north elevations and is clad in fieldstone—a common building treatment for NYA projects in the Ozark Mountains region. The school’s cornerstone says: “Created by National Youth Administration in Cooperation with Moorefield School District: Y. M. Mack—President, John Huskey—Secretary, A. D. Barnes, E. L. Manning, Paul B. Goodwin.”

The Moorefield School did not serve its students for long, as the district was consolidated with Batesville’s in 1947. The Moorefield School later began housing the Rehobeth Baptist Church.

For additional information:
“NYA Spends Total of $55,117 in Independence County.” Arkansas Gazette, March 29, 1939, p. 12.

Story, Kenneth, “Moorefield School.” National Register of Historic Places registration form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online at http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/National-Register-Listings/PDF/IN0562.nr.pdf (accessed November 12, 2019).

Mark K. Christ
Central Arkansas Library System