Atauloma Girls School, Historic parochial school in Afao village, American Samoa
Atauloma Girls School is a historic educational building located on Tutuila Island in American Samoa, designed with multiple classrooms and residential spaces for boarding students. The facility was built to serve girls from across the island who needed a place to study and live away from home.
The school was founded in 1900 by the London Missionary Society as the first secondary institution on Tutuila to admit female students. It represented a major shift in island education, opening doors to academic learning for girls where none had existed before.
The school shaped how young women were prepared for specific social roles within the church and their communities. Its graduates became influential figures as pastors' wives and nurses, giving them visibility and responsibility in local life.
The building is accessible by standard routes on Tutuila, and the Afao area can be reached without difficulty. It is worth checking ahead of time if visiting is possible, as the site is not always open to the public.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, later gaining attention when it was featured in a paranormal television program. This unexpected visibility brought the site to the notice of audiences beyond local history enthusiasts.
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