©2003, American Printing House for the Blind, Inc.
The exhibit of historic schools was developed from the archival collection of the Callahan Museum. The images are from postcards and photographs, and the engravings are from annual reports and other publications. There are sixty-one schools listed in the exhibit and most are represented by pictures. Of these historic school buildings, twenty-eight still exist today.
Eight of the extant school buildings have been recognized for their historical and architectural significance by their listing in the National Register of Historic Places. They are Virginia, Alabama, Texas, South Carolina, Ohio, Washington, Montana, and Indiana.
The most noteworthy of the existing schools is the Virginia School at Staunton. It was built for the school in 1846 and is still in use by the school today. This beautiful building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Both the history of blindness education and U.S. architectural history have benefited greatly by Virginia's commitment to the preservation of this building.
After Virginia, the oldest school building that was built for, and is still in use by, the school is the South Carolina school building. It dates from 1859 and is also listed on the National Register. The second and third oldest existing school buildings were built for other institutions, but have been in use as schools for blind students for well over 100 years. They are West Virginia, built in 1846 and Alabama, built in 1850. The Alabama building is on the National Register.
| Date of Bldg. | School | Built for: (School/ Other) |
Occupied by School Date | Now used by: (School/ Other) |
Listed on NRHP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1846 | Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind | School | 1846 | School | Yes |
| 1846 | West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind | Other | 1870 | School | |
| 1850 | Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind | Other | 1867 | School | Yes |
| pre 1854 | Maryland School for the Blind Original Maryland School for Colored B & D |
School | pre 1854 | Other | |
| 1858 | Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired | School | 1858 | Other | Yes |
| 1859 | South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind | School | 1859 | School | Yes |
| 1859 | Michigan School for the Blind (Lansing) | Other | 1880 | Other | |
| 1862 | Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School | School | 1862 | School | |
| 1874 | Ohio State School for the Blind | School | 1874 | Other | Yes |
| 1874 | Governor Morehead School, Original Colored Dept. Building |
School | 1874 | Other | |
| 1888 | Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind | School | 1888 | School | |
| 1894 | Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children | School | 1894 | School | |
| pre 1896 | Utah State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind | Other | 1896 | Other | Yes |
| 1898 | Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind | School | 1898 | Other | |
| 1898 | Governor Morehead School Dormitory | School | 1898 | Other | |
| 1898 | Overbrook School for the Blind | School | 1898 | School | |
| pre 1899 | South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (Gary) |
Other | 1899 | Other | |
| 1906 | Missouri School for the Blind | School | 1906 | School | |
| 1908 | North Dakota School for the Blind (Bathgate) | School | 1908 | Other | |
| 1911 | Maryland School for the Blind | School | 1911 | School | |
| 1911 | Connecticut Institute for the Blind | School | 1911 | School | |
| 1912 | Perkins School for the Blind | School | 1912 | School | |
| 1914 | Oklahoma School for the Blind | School | 1914 | School | |
| 1915 | Washington State School for the Blind | School | 1915 | School | Yes |
| 1923 | New York Institute for Special Education | School | 1923 | School | |
| 1927 | Indiana School for the Blind | School | 1927 | School | Yes |
| 1939 | Arkansas School for the Blind | School | 1939 | School |
Complete information was not available on all schools.