Nomination for Morewood School

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries - complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received date entered MAY 3 -1984 historic The Morewood School -(School District #9) Luce's District School and/or common 2. Location street & number Sguth Mountain Road (no assigned not for publication city, town Pittsfield N/A vicinity of state Massachusetts 3.

Classification code 025 county Berkshire code 003 Category district X building(s) structure site object Ownership public _ private both Public Acquisition in process N/A being considered Status X occupied unoccupied work in progress Accessible X - yes: restricted yes: unrestricted no Present Use _ agriculture commercial educational entertainment government industrial military museum park - private residence . religious scientific .transportation - other: Vacant 4. Owner of Property name City of Pittsfield by deed to Mrs. Karen Clydesdale and Ms. Linda Schilling street & number 66 Allen Street The Morewood School Partners 63 Concord Parkway city, town Pittsfield N/ Avicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts 01201 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Middle Berkshire Registry of Deeds street & number Bank Row city, town Pittsfield state Massachusetts 6.

Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets of title the Commonwealth #09-4001 has this property been determined eligible? _ yes date July 9, 1980 -federal X state X no county local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Commission city, town Boston state Massachusetts 7. Description The Morewood Schoot. Pittsfield. MA Condition -X excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one . unaltered X altered Check one Xoriginal site moved N/A Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Morewood School, or Pittsfield District School #9 is located on the east bank of Wampenum Brook, in the south central part of Pittsfield. It is the fourth building on the north side of S. Mountain Road, west from the intersection with South Street (Route 7). The building is located at the rear 1/3 of the lot, allowing the remainder to be used as a schoolyard. Since1973 the yard has been used as a neighborhood playground. Constructed ca. 1841 in the Greek Revival style, the Morewood School is a relatively ela- borate example of a one room, district schoolhouse of the period. The wood frame, rectan- gular plan (24'6" X 32'6") structure rises one story from a dry laid fieldstone foundation to a gable roof, now clad with asphalt.

A brick chimney to service the school's wood stove rises in the north end of the main roof; a galvanized iron ventilator with conical cap is centered on the ridge of the roof - Elevations are sheathed with original narrow clapboards and articulated by paneled corner pilasters, a full dentilated entablature and raking cornices in the gable ends. Windows with narrow surrounds contain 6/6 sash. The south gable end elevation which faces the street, contains a single window centered in the wall and directly beneath the cornice. The north elevation is identical with the exception of an original one story attached shed built for wood storage and privies and which now contains the heating plant and a small teacher's office. (converted ca. 1860).

The east and west elevations are identical with paired sash at their southern ends and recessed entries, one for boys and one for girls, at their northern ends. Both entries, which are recessed, are framed by pilasters, simple architraves, and rectangular transoms; the recessed areas are sheathed with plain boards. A weather hood has been erected over the east entry. The original interior of the schoolhouse rematns undivided and preserves original features such as horizontal board wainscatting, chain rail, and blackboards intact.c The only sign- ificant alteration to the building was an enlargement at the rear to accomodate modern heating equipment.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

Significance The Morewood School, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Period prehistoric .1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 1700-1799 1800-1899 1900- Areas of Significance - Check and justify below -archeology-prehistoric - - community planning archeology-historic conservation agriculture economics X architecture X education art - engineering commerce -exploration/settlement communications - industry _ invention landscape architecture law literature military music philosophy %u politics/government religion science - sculpture social/ humanitarian theater transportation other (specify) Specific dates 1843 Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Unknown The Morewood School retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship, as well as important associations with the 19th century development of Pittsfield, Mass- achusetts. Built ca. 1843, it is the city's oldest remaining schoolhouse and until its recent sale it was the oldest civic building still in public hands in the city. Additionally, it is an unusually well detailed and preserved example of a one room mid-19th century schoolhouse. Thus, the Morewood School meets criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places. Al though sixteen other one.room schoolhouses exist in the county,, this is one of the few which continues to be unaltered .

Accordingto a record book kept by Jesse Oliver Howard, who attended the school in 1865, he was told that an earlier schoolhouse located at about 550 South Street burned in June, 1841 when during noon hours several boys built a fire in the yard. The blazeispread to the school and to a shed, barns, and a house owned by Oliver Luce, Jesse Howard's The partly burned schoolhouse was purchased by Mr. Luce. In return, he graded the inhabitants of School District #9 "part of a lot on the west bank of the ditch that conducts the water from the pond to said Luce's Saw Mill." He also gave the the right of trespass on the west side of the property to a spring of water on the west bank of the brook for the benefit of the school. Though the deed is dated August 18, 1853, to the best of Mr. Howard's'recollection, the one room schoolhouse was built in 1843.

City school records are unable to confirm this, but the style, design. and construction support the earlier construction date. Also known as School District #9 it was probably the ninth schoolhouse built in Pittsfield, but records of this period are unclear. When Jesse Howard entered the school in 1865, the interior of the building contained a large wood box and stove in the center of the room with backless school benches for the pupils to sit on. Until 1925, water for the school was drawn from the spring mentioned in Oliver Luce's deed. The schoo] was named after the Morewood family who owned "Broad Hall," the Pittsfield country club; pupils ranged in age from 4 to 16 years.

In addition to educating the children of localfamiliesof Montague, Humphrey, Luce, Melville, Hibbard, Read, Cadwel1 and Hamilton, who lived nearby, traditions equated with the school include an annual Halloween float, nature classes conducted by Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Sweitzer, and a leaf raking day each fall. Through the years the building has remained almost unchanged. Civic pressure in support of the one room schoolhouse kept it operating one hundred thirty years as a Pittsfield Public School, until 1973. Since its closure as a school, its preservation has been promoted by the Pittsfield Bicentennial Commission who used it as their headquarters from 1974 to 1976.

John A Mattoon, executive director of the Commission, stated that "now there appears to be a consensus that this building ought to be permanently restored and declared an historic site." Present plans call for the preservation of the Morewood School thraigh a Preservation Restriction given by the new owners to the Pittsfield Historical Commission. The new owners hope to reopen the school as a kindergarten thereby, continuing the building's tradition as a learning institution.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References "Jesse O. Howard Manuscript," 1937, Pittsfield Historical Commission "The Berkshire Eagle" June 22, 1955 "The Berkshire Eagle" March 29, 1963 "The Berkshire Eagle" December 21, 1957 "The Berkshire Eagle" June 19, 1963 "The Berkshire Eagle" September 6, 1961 "The Berkshire Eagle" August 20, 1963(continued) 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property , 35 acres Quadrangle name Pittsfield West UT M References Quadrangle scale 1:25,000 A 6/4/3/0,5,0 Zone Easting 4/6/98775 Northing LILL ELL B LIILL Zone DLL FLI :astina Northing LULLILILLL LL LILLLL HLU01170204L Verbal boundary description and justification (Route 7) (It is shown as lot No. 9 on the City of Pittsfield Assessor's Map H-5.

The lot's dimensions are given as 148' X 83,' The original deed, given by O1ver LugEontinued) List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title Candace Jenkins, Preservation Planning Director and Mari L. Myer, Program Assistant with James N. Parrish, Historic Preservation Planner organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date January 1, 1984 street & number 294 Washington Street telephone (617) 727-8470 Boston city or town, Massachusetts state 12.

State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national _ state local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated accordingto thee criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.

State Historic Preservation Officer signature atuna 2 Wedki State Historic Preservation Officer title Massachusetts Historical Commission date 4/25/84 For NPS use only I herebycertify that this property is included in the National Register loue Irtered in the f Keper of the National Regisge Nattonal Register date 5-3/-84 Attest: Chief of Registration - - date NPS Form 10-900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp. 10-31-84 For NPS use only received date entered Continuation sheet The Morewood School Item number 9 & 10 Page 1 9.

Major Bibliographical References (con't) "The Berkshire Eagle" February 8, 1963 "The Berkshire Eagle" February 11, 1970 "The Berkshire Eagle" June 19, 197 "The Berkshire Eagle" March 9, 1974 "The Berkshire Eagle" March 15, 1974 "The Berkshire Eagle" August 3, 19/4 "The Berkshire Eagle" July 11,1977 Assessors Records, City of Pittsfield Smith, J.E.A. The History of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 1800-1876. 10. Verbal boundary description and justification (con't) August 18, 1853, gives the bounds as nine rods by five rods, or 148.5' by 82.5'. It con- tains forty-five square rods or .35 acres). The boundary is also described in Book 139, Page 183, Middle Berkshire Registry of Deed: "In consideration of $50, convey unto the said inhabitants of School District Number 9 in Pittsfield, a certain piece of land, lying in said district and town, described as follows: To wit.

beginning at a post standing in the north line of the highway leading westerly from said Luce's dwelling house on the west bank of the ditchi that conducts the water from the pond to said Luce's Saw Mill; thence westerly at right-angles with said north line of the road, nine rods to a stake; thence westerly on a line parallel with line of said highway, five rods to a stake; thence southerly on a line parallel with the first corner on line, nine rods to the line of said highway.

Thence easterly on the line of said highway five rods to the place of beginning-containing forty-five rods of land and the inhabitants are to fence said piece of land and keep the same in repair so long as they occupy the same for a school lot at their own expense; and said inhabitants have the right to trespass--way from the west side of said described land to a spring of water on the west bank of the brook for the purpose of using the water for the benefit of the schoo." WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Morewood School Berkshire County MASSACHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: L sample LJ request Working No. MAY 3 1984 Fed. Reg.

Date: 2 5 86 Date Due: 131/84 - 6117/84 Action: LACCEPT _ 5-3/-54 Intered in the -RETURN Netional Register - REJECT- Federal Agency: _ Jappeal LNR decision Recom./Criteria Reviewer Discipline_ Date see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: _technical corrections cited below -substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes j no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one - unaltered altered Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use Check one - original site moved date 8.

Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Builder/Architect J summary paragraph completeness YAM clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked - relating significance to the resource I context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Signed.

- Date Phone: _ Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet The Morewood School, District No. 9 South Mountain Road (28-64) Pittsfield, MA. 01201 James N. Parrish, BCRPC, 3/14/83 Photo 1 of 2 (R2-11) View north front and east facade of Morastors, hornice aad- Pediieshoving The Morewood School, District No.9 South Mountain Rd. (28-64) Pittsfield, MA. 01201 James N. Parrish, BCRPC, 3/14/83 Photo 2 of 2 (R2-12) View northeast of front and west facade of Morewood School, (1841-1843) showing Pilastered & Recessed Entry. C 63 Concord Parkway Pittsfield, Massachusetts March 13,1984 RECEIVED Valerie A. Talmage Executive Director MAR 2 3 1984] Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Massachusetts Historical Commission 249 Washington St. MASS. HIST. COMM, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Deax Ms.

Talmage: I am very pleased that the Morewood School will be considered by the State Review Board for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. However, please make a correction to your file. The property is presently owned by Karen and Robert Clydesdale and not Ms. Linda Schilling. The address and other pertinent information that you have is correct. If you have any questions concerning this property please feel free to call. I will look forward to hearing from you and the results of your meeting on April. 11, 1984. Thank you for your time and cooperation. Sincerely, KasenM. Cludesdale Karen M. Clydesdast