Nomination for Long Plain School

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (Expires 5/31/2012) RECEIVEP 2280 JUN O 1 2012 NAT. REGISTER OF HISTOHIC PLACES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 413 1. Name of Property historic name Long Plain School other names/site number Long Plain Museum 2. Location street & number 1203 Main Street not for publication city or town Acushnet state Massachusetts code 3.

State/Federal Agency Certification MA county Bristol code005 vicinity zip code 02743 As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this nomination request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards fo *egistering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property does not meet the National Register Criteria.

I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: _national _statewide Llocal Brna Suion Signature of certifying official/Title Brona Simon, SHPO, MHC May 30, 2012 State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property _ meets - does not meet the National Register criteria Signature of commenting official Date Title State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby centiry that this property is: entered in the National Register _ determined eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register _determined not eligible for the National Register Hor Ehon I. Beall 7.17.12 Date of Action 1 United States Department of the Interior atioom Pork Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Fo VB No.

1024-001 Long Plain School Name of Property 5. Classification wnership of Proper heck as many boxes as appl Category of Property (Check only one box.) private X _ public - Local public - State public - Federal building(s) district site structure object (Expires 5/31/2012) Bristol County, MA County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Conntributing Noncontributing 0 1 0 buildings district site structure object Total Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing) N/A 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) EDUCATION/school umber of contributina resources previous sted in the National Reaiste 0 Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) RECREATION AND CULTURE/museum 7.

Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) LATE VICTORIAN/Italianate Materials (Enter categories from instructions.) foundation: _granite, concrete walls: clapboard roof: asphalt other: Copper (cupola sheathing) 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Long Plain School Name of Property (Expires 5/31/2012) Bristol County, MA County and State Narrative Description Summary Paragraph Long Plain School is located in Long Plain, the northernmost village of the town of Acushnet, Massachusetts. The school is sited on the west side of Main Street, a late 17"-century thoroughfare providing communication between the settlement at Acushnet Village (also known as Head of the River, NR 2009) and points north.

The building is set back 100feet from Main Street in a semi-rural area of one- and two-story residential houses, farms, and scattered single-story commercial properties. Neighboring buildings and structures include the Friends Meeting House (built ca. 1759, NR 1986) a short distance to the south, and a variety of farmsteads and residences dating from the 19t century to the present.' Neighboring commercial properties date generally to the 20"h century. Long Plain School is a wood-frame, hipped-roof, Italianate-style building with a front-gable projection providing two entrances, vestibules, and a stairwell. Designed by Caleb Hammond of New Bedford, and built in 1875 by S.B. Simmons of Taunton, it is a fine example of an Italianate-style school building, and a well-preserved artifact of the early history of Acushnet as an independent municipality.

The school sits on a flat, grassy lot of less than one acre. It rises two stories from a granite ashlar foundation, and is generally symmetrical in plan, including a central block measuring 65 feet along the front elevation by 25 feet to the rear (1875, expanded 1924), and a projecting entryway providing a stairwell and vestibules (1875). The building is sheathed in clapboard with plain cornerboards. Its main block is six bays wide - expanded in 1924 from its original four bays - and two bays deep, with fenestration symmetrically arranged across the front and side elevations. There is a single central chimney located at the juncture of the main block and the projecting entryway.

The irregular rear elevation reflects a series of additions, including a rear "sanitation building" addition and rear stairwell (1921), and a frame carport (1981), built in the crook of the main block, and the 1921 addition at the southwest corner at the rear of the building. Narrative Description A simple cornice with regularly spaced brackets encloses the entire building. The roof combines a pedimented cross gable over the front projection extending to the rear wall, and a hipped roof over the side wings. Window surrounds are simple, capped by modest splayed lintels with shallow-projecting molded caps. Original 6/6 double-hung sash survive throughout the building (Photo 1)? Shutters on the front elevation are also believed to be original.

Original to the building and extending from the center of the main block is a full-height, ten-by-sixteen foot pedimented projection with side entries accessed by simple stairs. Within this front projection is a central stairwell (Photo 10), and vestibules on each floor (Photos 8, 9). In the center of both the front and rear pediment are oculi with keystone motifs in otherwise plain surrounds. The projection is surmounted by a cupola (Photo 5), which houses a bronze bell. The cupola dome sits on a bracketed entablature; it is of a convex mansard type, with metal cresting original to the building. The cupola has not changed in its general configuration, but its original open design (which revealed the bell) has been replaced with wooden shutters.? Although no longer visible from the street, the original bell survives.

The original copper sheathing of the cupola dome was replaced in kind in 2006. Two original brick chimneys, placed near the edges of the hipped classroom roofs, were replaced ca. 1924 with the existing central brick chimney. Original sanitation facilities included a detached outhouse located behind the building (not extant). ' In the immediate vicinity are the following town-inventoried historical properties: the John Hunter, Sr. House (ca. 1846) at 1189 Main Street, and the Captain James Allen House (ca. 1852) at 1239 Main Street. Source: Historical Building Inventory of the Town of Acushnet, Acushnet Historical Commission (undated). 2 These now have modern combination storm windows attached to the surrounds. 3 The date of this alteration is unknown.

3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Long Plain School Bristol County, MA Name of Property County and State The current plan of Long Plain School represents a substantial 1924 expansion of the original school. Between 1875 and 1924, the ground floor housed a primary school (grades 1-4), and the upper floor a grammar school (grades 5-8). As originally built, the school was four bays wide and two bays deep. It provided one large, 25 x 37' classroom on each floor. This simple plan was expanded in 1924 with the addition of a single bay at either end, to provide the current four- classroom plan. Interior The four classrooms are 25' x 27', with a ceiling height of eleven feet; this room configuration is the result of the 1924 enlargement of the main block.

The wainscoting and cabinetry are painted brown throughout the school, with natural white paint above. Tongue-and-groove fir flooring is unpainted in the first-floor south classroom, painted grey in the first- floor north and second-floor south classrooms, and linoleum-tiled in the second-floor north. One main chalkboard (Photo 13) and eight smaller, secondary chalkboards are located around the perimeter of the classrooms. Although untouched in the first-floor south classroom display, these have been painted over or covered with display material in the remaining three classrooms. The first-floor south room is a classroom museum display, including 30 maple desks with wrought-iron frames, attached to original flooring (Photo 11). The first-floor north classroom serves as a general Acushnet history exhibit (Photo 14).

The second-floor south classroom serves as a domestic life exhibit (Photo 15). The second floor north classroom serves as an exhibit of historical clothing (Photo 16). Rear "sanitation building" and stairwell (1921) In the spring of 1921, the town appropriated approximately $3,000 for the design and construction of an 18' x 27' "sanitation building," to be located at the rear of the building (Photo 2) and to replace an outhouse that had been located in the rear lot. The architectural firm of Brown and Poole (New Bedford, MA) was retained to design an addition that would provide indoor sanitation facilities as well as a rear stairwell (Photo 18).4 This addition rests on a poured-concrete foundation with a crawlspace below. The bathroom floors are concrete, with integral concrete mopboards.

These bathrooms utilized high-tank toilets with a pull-chain mechanism and a slate urinal with a copper drip pipe (still functional). Although original toilet bowls have been replaced, two hardwood overhead tanks (inactive) survive in the boys' room (Photo 17). Expansion (1924) In order to address overcrowding, the town expanded the school in the summer of 1924. This expansion was also designed by Brown and Poole. At that time, the north and south walls were removed and moved out approximately nine feet, rendering two 25' x 27' classrooms on each floor (Photos 11, 14, 15, 16). A new, roughly three-foot wide center partition, with coat closets and built-in cabinets, separated the two rooms (Photo 12). Original beadboard wainscoting was extended to cover the new wall. The wainscoting and cabinets, now painted brown, remain essentially unaltered and in good condition.

The two windows on these elevations were replaced by six tightly spaced, 6/6 windows providing greatly increased natural lighting in the rooms. These windows are the dominant feature of the north and south elevations (Photos 3, 4). The foundation of this addition below grade is poured concrete; above grade are courses of granite ashlar that match the 1875 foundation. Recent alterations Original wood-frame front doors were removed ca. 1990 and replaced with modern, steel-insulated doors. A historical photograph (Additional Material, Figure 1) shows a simple frame stair at the south entry. It is likely that there was a matching stair on the north. These have been replaced with poured concrete steps at the south entry (Photo 7) and a 4 A former exterior, west elevation second-floor window is now an interior window casing between the second-floor north classroom and the rear stairwell.

Sashes have been removed from this casing. 4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Long Plain School Name of Property Bristol County, MA County and State pressure-treated wood-frame stairway at the north (Photo 6). A frame carport along the south wall of the rear extension was built in 1981. A wooden perimeter fence, described in 1875 as "plain but substantial," was removed at an unknown date. Archaeological Description While no ancient Native American sites are currently known on the school property, sites may be present. One site is located in the general area (within one mile). That site, 19-BR-381, is located approximately one-half mile east of the Long Plain School, in a similar environmental location.

Environmental characteristics of the school represent locational criteria (slope, soil drainage, proximity to wetlands) that are favorable for the presence of Native sites. The school is located on an excessively drained, level to moderately sloping, outwash plain land surface in close proximity to wetlands. An unnamed tributary stream of the Acushnet River and small pond are located within 1,000 feet east of the school. The entire town of Acushnet is located within the Massachusetts Coastal drainage. Soil types on the school property are represented by excessively drained sandy soils formed in glacial outwash material. Given the above information, the size of the nominated property (one-acre lot), and the extent of historic land use, a moderate to high potential exists for the recovery of ancient Native American resources on the school property.

A moderate to high potential also exists for locating historic archaeological resources on the school property. Structural evidence of outbuildings related to maintenance and school activities may survive in the area surrounding the school. Archaeological evidence of occupational-related features (trash pits, privies, wells) may also exist on the property. Some of the potential archaeological resources listed above may have been covered by the addition of the attached rear sanitation building (1921), the building expansion (1923), and carport (1981). Structural evidence and construction features may survive from each of the school additions listed above. In 1875, town selectmen voted to purchase land for the Long Plain School. No mention was made at that time of existing structures or land use of the property.

Post molds may survive from a wooden perimeter fence, no longer extant, described in 1875 as "plain but substantial." (end) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Forn NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Long Plain School Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria Aark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the prope r National Register listing A B Property is associated with events that have made ignificant contribution to the broad patterns of ol history. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.

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 lact ndividual distinction Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, informatior important in prehistory or history (Expires 5/31/2012) Bristol County, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions.) EDUCATION COMMUNITY PLANNING ARCHITECTURE Period of Significance 1875-1962 Significant Dates 1875 - construction 1921 - addition 1924 - addition Significant Person (Complete only if Criterion B is marked above.) (Matk. % a Cohe dokas thar apply. ) Property is: A Owned by a 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 G a commemorative property. less than 50 years old or achieving significance within the past 50 years. Cultural Affiliation Architect/Builder Caleb Hammond, architect of original 1875 building S.B. Simmons, builder of 1875 building Brown and Poole, architects of 1921 Sanitation Building and 1924 addition 6 United States Department of the Interior lational Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Forr NPS Form 10-900 MB No. 1024-0011 (Expires 5/31/2012) Long Plain School Name of Property Bristol County, MF County and Stat Period of Significance (justification) The period of significance from 1875 to 1962 includes the construction of Long Plain School and the major additions and improvements during its near century of operation as a town-owned schoolhouse.

Criteria Considerations (explanation, if necessary) Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance and applicable criteria.) Long Plain School, built in 1875 and expanded in 1921 and 1924, is significant at the local level under National Register Criterion A as an important and well-preserved artifact of Acushnet's early history as an independent town, and under Criterion C as a fine example of a 19'*-century, Italianate public building designed by Caleb Hammond, a noted regional architect. It possesses a high level of integrity and is one of three surviving Acushnet public school buildings utilized in the early history of the town. It retains integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, the Long Plain School is significant at the local level.

Narrative Statement of Significance SIGNIFICANCE The present-day town of Acushnet was part of the colonial purchase that created the town of Dartmouth in 1652. This large land area also included the present-day towns of Westport and Fairhaven and the city of New Bedford. From 1787 to 1812 Acushnet was a part of New Bedford, and from 1812 to 1860 the town was part of Fairhaven. Acushnet's present- day boundaries date to the incorporation of the town in 1860. Early settlement occurred in three areas: the Head of the River® (NRDIS 2009); Parting Ways? , the town's current civic center; and Long Plain, in the northern part of the town. All three of these settlements were located along Main Street, a late 17"-century thoroughfare providing a link between New Bedford and Boston.

River to Long Plain are found numerous 18'h- and 19*h-century residences, many of them associated with sea captains of the whaling era. Acushnet generally, and Long Plain specifically, had a growing Quaker population in the 18 and 19th centuries, served by the ca. 1759 Long Plain Friends Meeting House (NR 1986). In the years between 1825 and 1850, several private schools were established in the Acushnet area. These included the Union Seminary, the Kempton School, and the Russell School, all located south of Parting Ways along the road to Fairhaven. Of these three, only the Union Seminary, ca. 1844, survives. Located at 62 South Main Street, it is now known as the Franklyn Howland house or the "Wayside." A Long Plain School was established by Quakers in 1831, and operated for twenty years.

By the mid 19th century, the emergent form of education in what was soon to become the independent town of Acushnet was publicly 5 The remaining two schoolhouses are: Parting Ways School (1874, 1903), 130 Main St., substantially altered in the late 20** century in its adaptation for use as the Town Hall Annex and the Mary S. Howard School (1919), 232 Middle Rd., adapted for use as the Acushnet Community Center in 1997. 6 The Acushnet River flows in a southerly direction through the town, emptying into tidewater at the Head of the River. This area, also called historically "Meeting of the Ways," was the geographical and population center of the Acushnet area. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No.

1024-0018 Long Plain School Name of Property (Expires 5/31/2012) 3ristol County, M/ ounty and Stat As pointed out by Franklyn Howland in his History of the Town of Acushnet (1907), The subject of public education received a fresh impetus when the Revolutionary War period had closed, and on the 25" of January, 1789, an elaborate law embodying all the best-known features of school law at that date was enacted. It authorized the division of [Massachusetts] towns into school districts and provided for the official supervision of the schools by ministers or selectmen, or by committees chosen for the purpose. This was the first legislative sanction of a district system.® By 1800, this enabling legislation was paired with powers extended to these districts to levy taxes upon residents for the requirements of the schools?

Shortly after the incorporation of Fairhaven in 1812, the town created nine school districts and modest schoolhouses in the Acushnet area, among them the Long Plain district. A small schoolhouse was located a short distance from the present Long Plain School." Crowding and difficult physical conditions for teaching and learning prevailed in the public schools of this period. A scathing report issued in 1844 described the one-room schoolhouse at Long Plain: "The house is altogether too small for the number of scholars penned up in it." By the mid 19* century, these nine districts had been consolidated into three: Parting Ways, Perry Hill, and Long Plain. Parting Ways School, originally a two-room schoolhouse built in 1874, was greatly enlarged in 1903 (it now serves as the Town Hall Annex).

The Greek Revival- style Perry Hill Schoolhouse(construction date unknown) was located near the intersection of Perry Hill and Mendell Roads. It is no longer extant, having been demolished after 1981. Long Plain School In April 1875, with postwar finances in order, the town selectmen voted to purchase land in Long Plain, a village in the northern part of Acushnet, for $202. On this one-acre lot was constructed a combined primary and grammar school to accommodate as many as 80 students who previously had attended the Quaker and Hammett Schools, grades 1-8. Erected at a cost of $3,160, this two-story Italianate building, designed by noted New Bedford architect Caleb Hammond (1829- 1903), provided two large classrooms - one on each floor. The lower classroom could accommodate up to 50 younger children; the upper, to be opened at a later date, would house the older students.

Neighbors contributed $151 toward the purchase of the school bell. Captain E.R. Ashley, chairman of the school committee, presided at the dedicatory ceremonies on November 29, 1875; the main address was given by Abner J. Phipps, general agent of the State Board of Education. A Republican Standard article printed a few days after the ceremony described ...a two-story wooden building, simple, yet very attractive in its style of architecture, with a frontal projection, having an entrance on each side, with suitable wardrobe arrangements and surmounted by a tower, in which, by private subscription, has been placed a bell of unusual clearness and agreeableness of tone.! The following dedicatory article appeared in the New Bedford Republican Standard, Thursday, December 2, 1875: DEDICATION OF A SCHOOL HOUSE - The new school house at Long Plain was dedicated on Monday with appropriate services.

There was quite a large gathering of the parents and friends of education from all parts of Acushnet showing their interest in the completion of this building, so much needed in that part of town. It is a two-story wooden building, simple, yet very attractive in its style of 8 Howland, History of the Town of Acushnet, 118. 9Ibid. 1° These districts were: Bisbee, Whelden, Village, White, Long Plain, Hammett, Perry Hill, Packard, and Wing. A tenth district and schoolhouse, Royal Hathaway, was located in both Acushnet and Fairhaven and absorbed into the latter's school districts. " Annual Report of the Schools of Fairhaven (1843-44), quoted in Howland, p. 124. 12 "Dedication of a School House," Republican Standard, 2 December 1875:4. 8 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No.

1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Long Plain School Bristol County, MA Name of Property County and State architecture with a frontal projection, having an entrance on each side with suitable wardrobe arrangements and surmounted by a tower, in which, by private subscription, has been placed a bell of unusual clearness and agreeableness of tone. It stands in a lot containing one acre, enclosed by a plain but substantial fence. It is intended for the accommodation of two schools - one on each floor - though for the present only the lower schoolroom will be used. This is furnished with fifty very excellent single desks, arranged with due regard to the light, and is surrounded with the most ample blackboard accom- modations, the wall in every available space, about three feet wide above the wainscot, being carefully prepared and covered with the best of liquid preparations.

It is a well proportioned room, 25 by 37 feet, and 11 feet high, and has a very pleasant and attractive aspect. The upper room is in every respect similar, with the exception of the furniture, which will not be put in until required. The architect was Mr. Caleb Hammond of this city [New Bedford] and the builder was Mr. S.B. Simmons of Taunton. Messrs. Hamblin, Allen and Wing of Acushnet were the building committee. The ample lot, the pleasant location, and the building in every respect, are creditable to the good taste of the citizens of Long Plain. And with the similar building erected last year at the Head-of-the-River [Parting Ways], show the interest of the citizens of Acushnet in the education of their children, and their wise and liberal provision for the accomplishment of this object.

The dedicatory exercises were introduced by very brief remarks by thechairman of the School Committee, Captain E.R. Ashley. Prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Wilson. Abner J. Phipps, Esq., general agent of the State Board of Education, was then introduced, who, after some complimentary and congratulatory remarks, made a pleasant, humorous and instructive address to the school children, who were all present. After a brief recess Mr.

Phipps gave a more formal and elaborate address, in which he contrasted the present with the past, in their relation to education, spoke of the gradual introduction of the several subjects of study pursued in our schools, their relative value and needed modifications, the excellencies and defects of the prevalent methods of teaching, the great need of the higher culture and professional training of all looking forward to the teacher's vocation, and closed with an earnest address to parents and teachers on their separate and reciprocal duties. His address was replete with information and valuable suggestions, and was listened to with great interest by all. Brief remarks were then made by Capt. B. F. Howland and Mr. Caleb Slade.

The occasion was one of great interest to all, and especially to the citizens of Long Plain, who rejoice in the erection and completion of this beautiful building, and its dedication to its legitimate object--the education of their children. The school opens with nearly forty pupils, and is to be taught by Miss Sarah L. Snow, who, for the past two years, has proved herself a very excellent and popular teacher in that part of Acushnet. Despite a notable increase in population in the early 20* century, the Long Plain School building served Acushnet without any significant modifications until 1921. Addressing the balance of school needs and taxpayer discontent in December of that year, School Committee Chairman Charles F.

Prior minced no words in addressing the need for critical sanitation improvements at the town's two largest schools: The appropriation of $6725 for toilets at Long Plain and Parting Ways met a need of long standing. It is entirely natural that some citizens should complain of the increase these appropriations made in their taxes. It remains true, however, that that the money has been well-spent.... Even admitting that it might have been possible to have postponed the toilet appropriation,it is a factthat the toilet accommodations at Parting Ways for four hundred children were outrageously unhygienic and inadequate, if not indecent. The condition at Long Plain was no better except that there were fewer pupils. The children of both buildings are safer from epidemic than they would otherwise have been."3 13 61" Annual Report of the Town Officers of Acushnet, year ending Dec. 31, 1921, p.

5-6 9 nited States Department of the Interic ational Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration For NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Long Plain School Name of Property Bristol County, MA County and State With this appropriation, the town hired the architectural firm of Brown and Poole (New Bedford) to design a rear eighteen-by-twenty-seven foot "Sanitation Building" for Long Plain School, which would provide a rear stairwell and indoor sanitation facilities. This addition eliminated the need for outhouses, providing sinks and high-tank toilets in both the boys' and girls' rooms, as well as a slate urinal in the boys' room. Despite these recent improvements, the 1923 Annual Report of the School Superintendent described "an impossible condition" of overcrowding at Long Plain: The Long Plain School must have relief before another school year.

At present all but two seats are occupied with a membership of seventy five pupils. Eight are to graduate this spring, but the number to enter next fall is sufficient to increase the membership to ninety. The first four grades in this building are being taught by two teachers using the same room with only a screen partition - an impossible condition. I recommend an addition of eight feet to the north and south wings of the building, erecting partitions and changing the entrances. This would make a modern, four room building.!4 The superintendent's request for a dimensional increase of eight feet on both wings was carried out in the summer of 1924. This design (also by Brown and Poole) created a new center wall (replacing the earlier screen partition), provided closets and built-in cabinets, and rendered the two 25' x 27° classrooms per floor visible today.

The following year the School Committee made this assessment: the Long Plain School two additional rooms were added to the building. The entire building was painted insi d out. This has improved the teaching conditions in this building and leaves us an extra room for increas enrollment in the district.' This improvement eliminated the two windows on the north and south walls, replacing them with six windows on the new walls, a design more in keeping with the wall of windows characteristic of 20"-century schoolhouses. Temporary closing (1947-1950) A lack of students due to the low birth rate during World War II forced Acushnet to close Long Plain School in 1947. As post-war children began entering the school system, the first-floor primary classrooms were reopened in 1950 and the upper classrooms were reopened as needed by mid-decade.

Recent History After a century of service, Long Plain School was closed in June 1972. In that year, the town opened up new primary and middle schools on a large town-owned parcel on Middle Road. The Acushnet Historical Society has operated the school as the Long Plain Museum since 1975. The first-floor south classroom is a recreation of an historical classroom, while the first-floor north classroom provides a general museum of artifacts and documents of the town's history. The second-floor north classroom provides an historical exhibit of women's apparel, and the second-floor south classroom is an exhibit of historical household furnishing and implements. The historical society has maintained the property well, carrying out recent plaster repair, roofing, and painting. 14 63rd Annual Report of the Town Officers of Acushnet, year ending Dec. 31, 1923, p. 81.

15 64'h Annual Report of the Town Officers of Acushnet, year ending Dec. 31, 1924, p. 104. 10 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Long Plain School Name of Property Bristol County, MA County and State Caleb Hammond, architect Caleb Hammond, a self-taught architect, was born in Fairhaven, MA, in 1829. At age fifteen he relocated to New Bedford among them Long Plain School. Hammond died in New Bedford in 1903. Among Hammond's other surviving work are the 1881 Norton Town Hall (NR 1977), the 1889 Odd Fellows Building in New Bedford, and his own Italianate Villa- style house on North Street in New Bedford, built in 1871.

Archaeological Significance Since patterns of ancient Native American settlement in the Acushnet area are poorly understood, any surviving sites could be significant. Recent archaeological surveys conducted for the New Bedford Harbor Superfund site and Commonwealth Electric Company right-of-way on the east bank of the Acushnet River, south of the school, have located several Native sites; however, most sites lack diagnostic artifacts and have unknown cultural affiliation. Any Native sites in the district locale may contribute important information relating to patterns of ancient Native American settlement and subsistence in the town of Acushnet, the Acushnet River drainage, and in the New Bedford Harbor locale.

These patterns may also document the role of interior sites of the Acushnet River drainage, with larger Native sites located downstream in the Acushnet River/New Bedford Harbor estuary and in Buzzard's Bay. Ancient Native sites in the district may also contribute important information related to the effects of sea-level rise on site distribution and frequency through time. Interior locales, including the school, may contain information that would help explain the absence of sites along the lower portion of the Acushnet River and New Bedford Harbor locale through their submergence by rising sea levels. Interior sites in the school locale may represent segments of settlement models that no longer exist in lower portions of the drainage, especially with earlier sites. Submerged Native sites have been identified south of the school in the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site project area.

Any surviving sites in the school locale may be especially important because early European settlement and industrial activity in the New Bedford/Fairhaven/Acushnet locale probably had an impact on most ancient Native American sites in the area. Other sites have been obscured or destroyed by extensive filling along the waterfront and sea-level rise. Historic archaeological resources described above may contribute important information related to the early history of education in Acushnet, the architectural characteristics of the school, and the social, cultural, and economic characteristics of the students who attended the school and their families.

Additional historic research, combined with structural evidence and construction features from the existing school building and potential outbuildings, may enable a reconstruction of the Long Plain School and related facilities as originally constructed in 1875. Similar evidence may indicate specific architectural details of the school building, and how those characteristics and facilities changed over time. Detailed analysis of artifacts and macrofossil evidence contained in occupational- related features (trash pits, privies, wells) may represent evidence of the social, cultural, and economic characteristics of the students who attended the school and, by extrapolation, their families. Macro-fossil evidence from privies may contribute important evidence of the overall health and diet of the students at the school.

Detailed analysis of the contents of occupational related features may also contribute evidence of 19th and 20th century educational methods and techniques used at the school. (end) 11 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Long Plain School Name of Property (Expires 5/31/2012) Bristol County, MA County and State Figure 1 Original plan of Long Plan School (1875-1924) Courtesy Acushnet Historical Society 12 United States Department of the Interior tional Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Fol NPS Form 10-900 AB No 1024-00 Long Plain School Name of Property (Expires 5/31/2012) Bristol County, MA County and State 9.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Major Bibliographical References Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form.) Books Dickinson, John W. "The Educational History of Massachusetts," in The New England States, Vol. IV, ed. William T. Davis. Boston: D.H. Hurd and Co., 1897. Howland, Franklyn. A History of the Town of Acushnet. New Bedford: by the author, 1907. Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Bristol County, Massachusetts. Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis and Co., 1883. Our County and its People: A Descriptive and Biographical History of Bristol County, Massachusetts. Boston: The Boston History Company, 1899. Pleins, Seu Ht.and Pritation of th., odem School Buiding" in A.D.F. Hamlin et al. Modern School Houses. New York; Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts, Vol. 3. Chicago: J.H. Beers and Co., 1912. Caleb Hammond genealogy and biography, p. 1176.

Articles "Dedication of a School House." Republican Standard, 2 December 1875: 4 Government Documents Annual Reports of the Town Officers of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. 1857-1859 Annual Reports of the Town Officers of Acushnet, Massachusetts. 1860-1972 Head of the River Historic District (Acushnet, MA), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. Maps Beers, F.W. and Co., Atlas of Bristol County (1871). Everts and Richards, New Topographical Atlas of Surveys, Bristol County, Massachusetts (1895). Walling, Henry F., Map of the County of Bristol (Massachusetts) (1858). Architectural Plans Plan No. 17005. Sanitary Bldg, addition to School (May 18, 1921) Architect: Brown & Poole, New Bedford On file, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston 13 United States Department of the Interior NPS Form 10-900 Long Plain School Name of Property Plan No. 18312.

Long Plain School Alteration and Addition (June 10, 1924) Architect: Brown & Poole, New Bedford On file, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston Previous documentation on file (NPS): preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67 has been requested) previously listed in the National Register X previously determined eligible by the National Register designated a National Historic Landmark _recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey # recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey# Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned):_MHC ACU.141 10.

Geographical Data Acreage of Property less than one acre (Expires 5/31/2012) Bristol County, MA County and State Primary location of additional data: Historic Preservation Offic Other State agen _Federal agency _Local government _University _Other Name of repository: -ROBINSC i2 LoBocr. 38c IAL 27578 38D Devve 30 Elosna Fi 58025140 1345 1235 238 - 30 44 11.9 acr.

230.00 5AC.41,284 235 sggto 35tor) 231 75,70 - C 70.00 Detail from Acushnet Assessor's Plat Map 19 14 nited States Department of the Interic ational Park Service / National Register of Historic Places RNo, 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900 Long Plain School Name of Property (Expires 5/31/2012) Bristol County, MA County and State UTM References (Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet.) 1 19 Zone 342311 4622368 Easting Northing 3 Zone Easting Northing 2 Zone Easting Northing 4 Zone Easting Northing Lat/Long 41.737489 -70.896238 Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property.) The boundaries of Long Plain School are contiguous with those of Acushnet assessors plat map 19, lot 43. Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected.) These boundaries represent the one-acre lot purchased by the town for construction of the school in 1875.

This lo1 includes the schoolhouse and yard, as used from 1875 to 1972. Abutting properties are unrelated to the school function 11. Form Prepared By name/title Edward Connors, principal, with Betsy Friedberg, NR Director, MHC organization Massachusetts Historical Commission street & number 220 Morrissey Blvd city or town Boston e-mail NCONNORS@COX.NET date May 2012 telephone 617-727-8470 state MA zip code 02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Maps: A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Key all photographs to this map.

- Continuation Sheets - Additional items: (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items.) 15 Natona Pai sepaicen of na negisrer or isone lace 8 02m NPS Form 10-900 Long Plain School Name of Property (Expires 5/31/2012) Bristol County, MA County and State Photographs: submit clear and descriptive photographs. The size of each image must be 1600x1200 pixels at 300 ppi (pixels per inch r larger. Key all photographs to the sketch mar Name of Property: Long Plain School City or Vicinity: Acushnet County: Bristol State: MA Photographer: Ned Connors Date Photographed: October 2009 Description of Photograph(s) and number: 1. Front elevation, view NE 2. Rear elevation, view E 3. Rear elevation with carport, view NE 4. 1924 enlargement and ca. 1910 extension, view SE 5. Detail, 1924 enlargement, view SE 6. Classroom, first floor south, view SW 7. Classroom, first floor north, view S 8.

Historical photo, n.d., showing original plan of school Property Owner: (Complete this item at the request of the SHPO or FPO.) name Town of Acushnet, MA street & number 122 Main Street city or town Acushnet telephone 508-998-0200 state MA zip code 02743 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460 et seq.) Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form.

Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1849 C. Street, NW, Washington, DC 16 Massachusetts Historical Commission Digital Image Submission Form Please submit one form for each group of digital images About your digital files: Camera Used (make, model): Nikon Coolpix L6 (6 megapixel) Resolution of original image capture (camera setting including resolution and file format): High setting: 2816 x 2112 pixels. File format: Compressed JPEG baseline compliant (converted to TIF for submission to MHC). File name(s) (attach additional sheets if necessary) check here to refer to attached photo log: About your prints: Printer make and model: HP Deskjet 6540 Paper: brand & type (i.e., Epson Premium Glossy Photo) HP Premium Photo Paper, soft gloss, 10.0 mil, 641b._ Ink: HP 97 Vivera.

Signature: (By signing below you agree that the information provided here is true and accurate.) sienature: Etom Dae: 3/ 2/10 Long Plain School Photo Key 1203 Main St. Acushnet, MA dotted line indicates side extensions (1924) carport exter (1981) Main Street Approximate scale: 1* = 40° Sketch Plan Long Plain School 1203 Main St.

Acushnet Bristol County MA Dotted line indicates side extensions (1924) rear carport extension (1981) Main Street Approximate scale: 1" = 40' UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY Long Plain School NAME: MULTIPLE NAME: STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Bristol DATE RECEIVED: 6/01/12 DATE OF 16TH DAY: 7/09/12 DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: DATE OF PENDING LIST: DATE OF 45TH DAY: REFERENCE NUMBER: 12000413 REASONS FOR REVIEW: DATA PROBLEM: OTHER: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAI COMMENT WAIVER: VACCEPT ABSTRACT/SUMMARY COMMENTS: REJECT 7-17:12DATE 6/22/12 7/18/12 Entered ia The National Reglbter Historic Places RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments Y/N see attached SLR Y/N If a nomination is returned to the nominating authority, the nomination l is no longer under consideration by the NPS.

PHOTO I ACUSHNET LONE PLAIN SCHOOL NED CONNORS PHOTO OCT 2009 FRONT ELEVATION, VIEW NW MA_ ACUSHNET(BRISIOLCOUNTY) - LONGPLAIN 001. tif uald dH uniwatd d PHOTO 2 ACUSHNET, LONG PLAIN SCHOOL NED CUMMINGS PHOTO 2009 REAR ELEVATON, VIEW E MA_ACUSHNET(BRISTOLCOUNTY) _ LONGPLAINOO2. tif uold dH PHOTO 3 ACUSHNET, LONG PLAIN SCHOOL NED CONNORS PIOTO OCT 2009 REAR ELEVATION SHOWING CARPORT, VIEW NE MA_ACUSHNET (BRISTOLCOUNTY) - LONGPLAIN 003. tif cunwold dH dH 1 PHOTO 4 ACUSHNET, LONG PLAIN SCHOOL NED CONNORS PIOTO OCT 2009 NORMI 1924 ENLARGEMENT AND CA. 1910 EXTENSION VIEW SE MA_ACUSHNET(BRISTOLCOUNTY)- LONGPLAIN 004. fif uold dH wngotd dH PHODO 5 ACUSANET, LONG PLAIN SCHOOL NED CONNORS PHON. 2009 DETAIL, NORT 1924 ENLARGEMENT VIEW SE MA_ACUSHNET (BRISTOLCOUNTY)_ LONGPLNN O05.

tif cnmasd dH dH cntald dH wnmasd dH wnimosd dHl wnwasd dH tnwald dH A. CE- KI MmNnOo|Pp Qg Rr Ss It Uu PHOTO 6 ACUSHNET, LONGPUAIN SCHOOL NED CONNORS PHOTO FEB 2010 CLASSROOM, IST FLOOR SOUTH VIEW SN MA-ACUSHNET (BRISTOLCOUNTY)- LONGPLAINO06.tif uo1d dH Shirts ushnetà SMt Anr APPLE-PEACH FESTIVAL GEPL1313140 BEPT. D. comle peie SEPT. 13 13.14H FOOD ENTERTANMEN PHODO 7 ACUSHNeT, LONG PUAIN SCHOOL NED CONNORS PHOTO FEB 2010 CLASSROOM, IST FLOOR NORTH, SHOWING CABINETRY and CLOSET 7 CENIER WALC, VIEW S MA_ACUSHNET(BRISTOLCOUNTY)- LONGPLAINO07.

tif PHOTO 8 ACUSHNET, LONG PLAIN SCHOOL HISTORICAL PHOrO SHOWING ORIGINAC PUAN O SCHOOL 1875-1924 MA_ACUSHNET(BRISTOLCOUNTY)- LONGPLAINO08.Kf wntwaid dH wnwald dH wnusid dHt dH dH cnmard dH COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS TOWN OF ACUSHNET 122 MAIN STREET, ACUSHNET, MA 02743 OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN TAX: (508) 298-0203 RECEIVED NOV 1 9 2009 MASS. HIST. COMM CRJNISTO. BOARD OF SELECTMEN DAVID E. WOJNAR, chairman LESLIE DAKIN, JR. LANG. COUTINHO OWN ADMINISTRATOF November 17, 2009 Massachusetts Historical Commission 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125-3314 RE: Long Plain Museum Dear Massachusetts Historical Commission: The Board of Selectmen owners of 1203 Main Street at their November 16, 2009, meeting voted to support an MHC determination of eligibility for the Long Plain Museum.

If you have any questions or need any further information please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, David E. Wojnar, Chairman Leslie Dakin, Jr. Membe Suatio Nala RECEIVED 2280 JUN 0 1 2012 NAT. REGISTER OF HISTONIC PLACES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission May 30, 2012 Mr. J. Paul Loether, Chief National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 1201 Eye Street, NW g floor Washington, DC 20005 Dear Mr. Loether: Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Long Plain School, 1203 Main Street, Acushnet (Bristol), MA The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer.

The owners of the property were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30 to 45 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. One letter of support has been received. Sincerely, Betsy Friedber setty treaher National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission Enclosure CC: Kevin Gaspar, Chair, Acushnet Board of Selectmen Joyce Reynolds, Pauline Teixeira, Acushnet Historical Commission Ned Connors, consultant Mark Cenerizio, Acushnet Planning Board 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 (617) 727-8470 - Fax: (617) 727-5128 www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc