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Photograph of Roberts School
Photograph by John Phelan, CC BY 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Roberts School

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“The Roberts School is a historic school building at 320 Union Street in Holbrook, Massachusetts. The one-room schoolhouse was built in 1873; it is a wood-frame structure, with two doorways providing access to separate vestibules, as well as the singular classroom.”

Wikipedia article Roberts School, CC BY-SA 4.0.

one of 249 National Register listings in Norfolk County · listed in 2007 · category: Building · one of 2 National Historic Landmarks in Norfolk County.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 320 Union St., Holbrook, 02343
  • When was it listed? 2007-08-30
  • Category. building
  • Township. Holbrook town
  • National Register reference number. 07000860 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

1,586 words

This property stands in Holbrook Town. A History of Old Braintree and Quincy : with a Sketch of Randolph and Holbrook, published 1879 gives that township a chapter of its own.

The chapter covers the township.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Holbrook Town - 1,586 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

361 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 361 fires within 5 miles of Roberts School between 2015 and 2020, burning about 169 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Recreation and ceremony118
Debris and open burning92
Missing data/not specified/undetermined87
Smoking38
Misuse of fire by a minor19
Natural3
Arson/incendiarism2
Fireworks1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBROCKTON
7 September 2015Naturalunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBROCKTON
7 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBROCKTON
7 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
7 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
6 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
6 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
6 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Norfolk County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 5,994 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 5,994 specimens collected within 10 miles of Roberts School between 1832 and 1975: 2,633 Plantae, 1,624 Fungi, 1,544 Animalia, 145 Protozoa, 28 Chromista, 16 Unrecorded, 4 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by (MARSDEN, H W), A W Cheever, A. A. Eaton and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Lysimachia × producta (A.Gray) FernaldLysimachia × producta (A.Gray) Fernald1900A. P. Chute
A photograph of the species Cornus sericea, not of this specimenCornus sericea subsp. sericea1832Nathaniel T. KidderMilton, Brook Road
A photograph of the species Carex trisperma, not of this specimenCarex trisperma Dewey1836J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Cladonia rangiferina, not of this specimenCladonia rangiferina (L.) Weber1844J. L. RussellHingham
A photograph of the species Lopadium disciforme, not of this specimenLopadium disciforme (Flot.) Kullh.1848J. L. Russell
A photograph of the species Cladonia gracilis, not of this specimenCladonia gracilis (L.) Willd.1849J. L. RussellHingham
A photograph of the species Spyridia filamentosa, not of this specimenSpyridia filamentosa (Wulfen) Harv.1849see Collection Note
A photograph of the species Frullania asagrayana, not of this specimenFrullania asagrayana Mont.1850J. L. Russell
A photograph of the species Hypnum curvifolium, not of this specimenHypnum curvifolium Hedw.1851W. L. RussellHingham
A photograph of the species Lobaria pulmonaria, not of this specimenLobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm.1851J. L. Russell
A photograph of the species Ameiurus nebulosus, not of this specimenAmeiurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819)1852S. BairdHingham Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Buellia alboatra, not of this specimenBuellia alboatra (Hoffm.) Th.Fr.1852Edward Tuckerman

All 5,994 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Roberts School: 10 past producers, 4 producers, 1 plant. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Simeone Stone CorpStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Stoughton QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
A A Will Materials CordSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
A Edward SarniSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Avon Building Supply CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Avon Building Supply Inc.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Boston Sand and Gravel CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Braintree PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Brockton PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Klondyke PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Norfolk County

Storms near this property

6 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Holbrook, the town this property stands in, in 6 storm reports between 2005 and 2020: 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood, 1 hail, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2005Thunderstorm WindHolbrook$15,000no account filed
July 2018LightningHolbrook$10,000At 11:35 AM EST, lightning from a thunderstorm over Holbrook started a house fire on East Shore Road.
September 2017Thunderstorm WindHolbrook$1,000At 1020 AM EST, an amateur radio operator reported a tree down in Holbrook...on Weston Avenue at the intersection with Union Street.
June 2020FloodHolbrook-In Holbrook, a nearly stationary thunderstorm along a sea breeze front caused one foot of street flooding at Route 139 and Poole Circle and on South Franklin Street (Route 37) just north of Collins Road.
October 2014FloodHolbrook-Route 37 was flooded in Holbrook. Route 28 was closed in both directions between Royal Crest Drive and Gordon Street in Randolph due to flooding.
August 2014HailHolbrook-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Norfolk County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

5,296 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) XA Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. _B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. X C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. -D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: _A owned by religious institution or used for religious purposes. - B removed from its original location. _ C a birthplace or grave. _D a cemetery. _E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. _F a commemorative property. -G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) _Norfolk, MA County and State Areas of Significance Enter categories from instructions EDUCATION ARCHITECTURE Period of Significance 1873-1957 Significant Dates Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) Cultural Affiliation Architect/Builder Morrison M. Alden (builder) 2.

The whole case file for this property - 5,296 words, 27 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 07000860, 27 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Stetson Hall1.0 miles2011
Belcher, Jonathan, House1.5 miles1976
Pond Street School3.2 miles2010
Thayer Public Library3.6 miles1978
Thayer, Gen. Sylvanus, House3.7 miles1974
Fogg Building3.9 miles1983

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 07000860 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Norfolk CountyAll 249 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.