Robert Smalls School

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

From the record

“The Robert Smalls School is a historic school building at 316 Front Street in Cheraw, South Carolina. This single story brick Colonial Revival structure was designed by the Florence firm of Hopkins, Baker & Gill, and completed in 1953.”
Wikipedia article Robert Smalls School, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 9 National Register listings published here for Chesterfield County · listed in 2014 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Listed as. Smalls, Robert, School - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
Address. 316 Front St., Cheraw, 29520
When was it listed? March 2014
Category. building
Census division. Cheraw
National Register reference number. 14000043 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.

Fires near this property

307 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 307 fires within 5 miles of Robert Smalls School between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,332 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 54 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
Debris and open burning	113
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	89
Arson/incendiarism	54
Equipment and vehicle use	20
Railroad operations and maintenance	13
Misuse of fire by a minor	11
Smoking	3
Natural	3
Fireworks	1

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

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2007	Debris and open burning	3.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
7 September 2002	Equipment and vehicle use	4.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
4 September 1999	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
29 September 2001	Equipment and vehicle use	2.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
26 September 1995	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
25 September 1998	Railroad operations and maintenance	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
24 September 1998	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
14 September 2007	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named

Every fire recorded in Chesterfield County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Robert Smalls School: 6 unknowns, 3 producers, 2 past producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Titanium, Iron, Iron, Thorium, Zirconium, Titanium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Juniper Creek	Iron, Thorium, Zirconium, Titanium	Unknown	Placer , Modern , Fluvial
Thompson Creek	Titanium, Iron	Unknown	Placer , Modern , Fluvial
Cash Mine	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unidentified Gravel Mine	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown	Sedimentary
Cheraw Mine	Clay	Unknown	Sedimentary
Cheraw Mine	Clay	Producer
Gin Creek Mine	Clay	Past Producer
Irby Mine	Clay	Unknown	Sedimentary
Palmetto Mine	Clay	Producer
Unidentified Clay Mine	Clay	Past Producer	Sedimentary

Every working recorded in Chesterfield County

Storms near this property

58 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cheraw, the town this property stands in, in 58 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 25 thunderstorm wind, 23 hail, 6 flash flood, 3 heavy rain. The reports record 4 injuries. 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	4 hurt, $80,000	Sheriff reported trees down in Cheraw... some on vehicles and some on homes.
July 2012	Hail	Cheraw	$50,000	Public reported golfball size hail on the north side of Cheraw.
October 2016	Flash Flood	Cheraw	$10,000	SCDOT reported Old Cash Road near Juniper Road closed due to flooding. They also reported a roadway washout along Songbird Road between Teals Mill Road and Bear Creek Road.
December 2015	Flash Flood	Cheraw	$7,000	County EM reported a few roads closed due to flash flooding including the U.S. 52 bypass in Cheraw.
July 2012	Hail	Cheraw	$5,000	Public reported quarter size hail covering the ground near Highway 145.
July 2009	Hail	Cheraw	$4,000	Cheraw State Park reported penny size hail and several trees struck and split by lightning.
September 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	$3,000	Chesterfield County Dispatch reported trees down on Hwy 1 near the National Guard Armory.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	$3,000	EM reported trees downin Cheraw on Laney and Old Cash roads.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	$2,000	EM reported large branches and a few trees down in Cheraw.
January 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	$2,000	DOT reported a few trees down in the Cheraw area.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	$1,000	DOT reported a couple of trees down on Old Chesterfield Hwy.
April 2023	Hail	Cheraw	$100	Personnel at Cheraw Water Plant reported hail slightly larger than dime size but smaller than nickel size. Time estimated.
September 2018	Flash Flood	Cheraw	$100	Some roads closed due to flooding in Cheraw and vicinity, including Manor Rd between W Market St Ext and US Hwy 1, and Market St (US Hwy 1) between Christian St and 2nd St.
September 2018	Flash Flood	Cheraw	$100	Miller Ingram Dr closed due to Wilson Branch creek overflowing its banks.
September 2018	Flash Flood	Cheraw	$100	Video, shared via social media, showed water over Cash Rd near Old Cash Rd. Road was closed.
May 2024	Hail	Cheraw	-	Broadcast meteorologist passed on a public report with photo of roughly ping-pong sized hail in Cheraw.
May 2024	Hail	Cheraw	-	SKYWARN Spotters noted several reports of quarter sized hail just north of Cheraw along Highway 52.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	A tree was downed on a power line at Little St and Huger St in Cheraw. Time estimated.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	A tree was downed on a house on High St in Cheraw. Time estimated.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Chesterfield County Dispatch reported multiple trees down along Highway 52.
August 2020	Hail	Cheraw	-	Spotter reported hail up to the size of a quarter in Cheraw.
September 2018	Heavy Rain	Cheraw	-	CO-OP Observer Station CEWS1, Cheraw Water Plant, measured a total rainfall amount, associated with Tropical Cyclone Florence, of 22.58 inches. The rain fell from late afternoon Friday Sept. 14th through early morning Monday Sept. 17th.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Winds downed power lines at the intersection of Legrand Street and Depot Street.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Reported downed trees along with a blown transformer on Market Street.
June 2016	Heavy Rain	Cheraw	-	Public reported rainfall up to 3 inches which caused ponding of water along Church Street in Cheraw.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Law enforcement reported a tree down across the roadway at US 1 and US 52.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Numerous trees and power lines were downed in and around the town of Cheraw. Many areas were without power.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Public report of a 60 MPH wind gust. Pea size hail also reported.
September 2014	Hail	Cheraw	-	Sheriff dispatch reported that officers observed dime size hail near the town of Cheraw.
June 2013	Heavy Rain	Cheraw	-	COOP Observer at Cheraw Water Plant reported 1.31 inches of rain from a thunderstorms within a half hour.
February 2011	Hail	Cheraw	-	Spotter reported nickel size hail in Cheraw.
July 2010	Hail	Cheraw	-	Public reported 1.25 inch hail.
July 2010	Hail	Cheraw	-	Public reported golf ball size hail.
June 2008	Hail	Cheraw	-	Public reported quarter size hail and large branches down.
June 2008	Hail	Cheraw	-	COOP observer reported nickel size hail.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Highway Maintenance reported a few trees down near Cheraw.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Coop Observer reported trees and large limbs down along with some small hail.
August 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Public reported trees dwon at US 21 and hwy 52.
June 2007	Hail	Cheraw	-	H. Cooper Black Park reported nickel size hail.
May 2006	Hail	Cheraw	-	Public reported golf ball size hail.
June 2006	Hail	Cheraw	-	Highway Dept. reported 3/4 inch hail on US Hwy 52.
July 2006	Hail	Cheraw	-	Public reported 3/4 inch hail on SC Hwy 9.
June 2006	Hail	Cheraw	-	Forestry Commission reported 3/4 inch hail at Cheraw State Park.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Fire Dept. reported numerous trees down and power outages.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Cheraw State Park reported some trees and large limbs down on the north side of the park.
August 2006	Hail	Cheraw	-	SKYWARN spotter reported nickel size hail at the intersection of hwy 52 and State road.
November 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Sheriff reported trees down on US 52 in the Cash area.
September 2004	Tornado (F1)	Cheraw	-	An F1 intermittently touched down and did minor damage to several homes, businesses, and an elementary school.. Numerous trees and powerlines were down.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Sheriff reported trees down on Cattle Ridge Road.
May 2003	Flash Flood	Cheraw	-	SKYWARN spotters reported flash flooding in and around Cheraw. Several roads closed due to water over the highways.
March 2002	Hail	Cheraw	-	Coop observer reported 1 inch hail.
April 2002	Hail	Cheraw	-	Sheriff reported dime size hail.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Cheraw State Park reported large limbs down on the golf course.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	EOC reported trees down in Cheraw.
June 2000	Hail	Cheraw	-	NWS COOP observer reported 3/4 inch hail.
August 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	Public reported trees and powerlines down.
January 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Cheraw	-	EPD and Highway Maintenance report several trees down on SC Hwy 22.
March 1998	Hail	Cheraw	-	Sheriff reported 1 inch hail in Cheraw.

Every storm recorded in Chesterfield County

Newspapers printed here

3,005 digitised pages

5 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 600 issues, 3,005 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

Newspaper	Published
Cheraw Gazette	1847 to 1861
Farmers' Gazette, and Cheraw Advertiser	1839 to 1843
Cheraw Chronicle	1896 to 2005
Cheraw Gazette	1835 to 1838
Farmers' Gazette	1843 to 1847

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.

Listed places nearby

3 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.

Property	Distance	Listed
Coulter Memorial Academy Historic District	0.2 miles	2022
Cheraw Historic District	0.5 miles	1974
St. David's Episcopal Church and Cemetery	0.6 miles	1971

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 14000043 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Chesterfield County	All 9 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.
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.