Fagalele Boys School

Fagalele Boys School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
1971 photo
Nearest city	Leone, American Samoa
Coordinates	14°20′31″S 170°47′10″W
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
NRHP reference No.	72001446[1]
Added to NRHP	March 16, 1972

The Fagalele Boys School, in Leone, American Samoa, is a historic building that was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[1] It is a church school built by the London Missionary Society, perhaps as early as 1850–1856, but before 1900. It was the first secondary school in what is now American Samoa, and it perhaps is the oldest surviving building on Tutuila Island.[2]

It is a U-shaped building fitting within an 80-by-60-foot (24 m × 18 m) rectangle, apparently built of reinforced concrete or of rocks with a cement-plaster exterior. [2]

The LMS Fagatele Boys School was built in 1855, the same year that the Samoan version of the Old Testament was printed for the first time.[3][4] Originally, it consisted of schoolrooms and living quarters for the pastor. It was here that students were trained for entry to the LMS Seminary in Western Samoa. It is possibly the oldest building in American Samoa.[5][6] It is the oldest European-style building on Tutuila Island.[7]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in American Samoa

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Russell A. Apple (July 8, 1971). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Fagalele Boys School". National Park Service. and accompanying two photos from 1972
3. Aitaoto, Fuimaono Fini (2024). Science-Christianity and Church Activities in the Samoan Islands - Early 21st Century: An Update. LifeRich Publishing. ISBN 9781489750228.
4. Aitaoto, Fini (2012). Tala Fa'asolopito O Le Ekalesia Fa'apotopotoga a Le Atua i Samoa (Assemblies of God, AOG) i Amerika Samoa. WestBow Press. Page 74. ISBN 9781449746445.
5. Eustis, Hamilton Nelson Eustis (1979). Samoa Sketchbook. Hobby Investments. Page 62. ISBN 9780959560916.
6. "NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 1, 2017.
7. Stanley, David (2000). South Pacific Handbook. Avalon Travel Publishing. Page 445. ISBN 9781566911726.