Nomination for No. 4 Schoolhouse

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 8-86) RECEIVED. 10240018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places MAY 1 1 1988 NATIONAL REGISTER Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations of eligibility for individual properties or districts. See instructions in Guidelines (Form 10-900a). Type all entries. 1. Name of Property historic name other names/site number No. 4 Schoolhouse Christian Hill School, East School 2. Location street & number city, town state MA Farrington Road Barre code 025 county Worcester code NA ]not for publication NA Jvicinity 027 zip code 01005 3.

Classification Ownership of Property X private public-local public-State public-Federal Category of Property building(s) district site structure object Number of Resources within Property Contributing Noncontributing 2 buildings 1 sites structures objects _Total Name of related multiple property listing: N/A Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register 4. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, 1 hereby certify that this Xnomination Irequest for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meetstheprocedural and professionalrequirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property meets ]does not meet the National Register criteria. see continuation sheet.

VdieniA Taemage 4/28|58 Signature of certifying official Date Executive Director, Massachusetts Historical Commission; State or Federal agency and bureau State Historic Preservation Officer In my opinion, the property ]meets does not meet the National Register criteria. See continuation sheet. Signature of commenting or other official Date State or Federal agency and bureau 5. National Park Service Certification I, hereby, certify that this property is: Mentered in the National Register. See continuation sheet. Patucke Arduus determined eligible for the National Register. See continuation sheet. determined not eligible for the National Register. 6/22,88 removed from the National Register. Jother, (explain:) Signature of the Keeper Date of Action 6. Function or Use No.

4 Schoolhouse, Barre, Massachusetts Historic Functions (enter categories from instructions) Current Functions (enter categories from instructions) Education /school Social /clubhouse Social/clubhouse 7. Description chitectural Classificatio nter categories from instruction LATE VICTORIAN Materials (enter categories from instructions) foundation walls stone wood tin roof other DescrisPriett No hist Schbolhou, barre , a one-room schoolhouse built in 1883, is Located on a 1.5 acre lot on the north side of Farrington Road, at the road': intersection with Sunrise Avenue. Situated approximately two miles northeas! of Barre Center village, the school is set back one hundred feet from the road in a level, grassy clearing, surrounded by woodland. The northern and eastern boundaries of the schoolhouse lot are marked by a fieldstone wall of apparent nineteenth-century construction.

The schoolhouse site is located on a level upland area of northeastern Barre, between two tributory streams that drain southward into the Ware River. To the east and south, the terrain slopes down to Pleasant Brook. To the west, the land rises slightly to Williamsville Road, which follows to the north of the school, a relatively level, poorly-drained highland plateau extends to the town's northern boundary. The area in the vicinity of the school is characterized by rural and suburban residential use, and includes representative eighteenth- and nineteenth-century farmhouses, actively-used agricultural fields, and the No. 4 Cemetery, located approximately .2 miles west of the school on Farrington Road. Iwentieth-century residential development is heaviest at the western terminus of Farrington Road and along Marsh Road southwest of the school.

The south-facing, woodframe schoolhouse consists of a main structure, measuring twenty-nine feet by twenty-three feet, and a rear, lean to shed addition, measuring twenty-one feet by twelve feet. The 1 1/2-story, side-gabled main structure has no basement, and rests on a foundation of quarried granite blocks. Exterior siding is the original six-tinned sheathing specified in the building contract of 1883. The brick chimney is located ne siar ohmny in taatecehing through the ridge of the roof approximately four feet from the west-facing gable. The south-facing, symmetrical, main facade features a small, gabled, projecting central bay that encloses a raised interior recital area. The face of the bay features paired 6/6 sash windows and a wooden flagpole attached above the windows and at the apex of the bay gable. The side faces of the bay each contain a smaller 4/4 sash window.

On the main facade, the central bay is flanked on each side by a 6/6 sash window and a raised-panel door. These are sheltered by shallow entry porches that extend laterally from the central bay. The porch floors are supported by single three-footby four-foot, cut-granite entry steps. Single, square, chamfered posts support the porch hoods at each corner. All door and window surrounds are of flat-planed, four-inch board. X See continuation sheet OMB Approvel No. 10240018 NPS Form 10-900- 8-881 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet No. 4 Schoolhouse Barre, Massachusetts Section number . 7 Page - 1 The east and west gable-end facades each contain a central first-floor window and a slightly smaller, central attic window, both with 6/6 sash.

The original north facade, although partly covered by a shed addition, remains intact. It contains three doorways. Iwo of these are panelled-door, end wi now oc % alsanior on th focado. entries aligned with the two front entries. The third is a panelled door set slightly west of center on the facade. Beside each of the end doorways is a The kitchen shed addition of 1937 is sheathed with vertical planking covered with asphalt siding. The east facade of the shed, aligned with the east s matn seneture, bont aia a pametida dor mael ea oa shed contains no openings. The original building plan of No. 4 Schoolhouse consists of a single, open classroom with entry through flanking east (boys') and west (girls') coatrooms which extend the entire length of the structure. A raised recital area is contained in the south-facing bay.

Located on the west wall of the classroom, and separated by the chimney stack, are two original, pressed-board blackboards, one approximately four feet by three feet, the other nine feet by three feet. Subsequent modifications of the original structure include the replacement in 1928 of a single, south-facing window in the recital bay with two windows to improve lighting. Other alterations took place in 1937, when the kitchen shed was added to the north side of the building. At this time, the interior wall of the boys' (east) coatroom was removed. The original building contract specifications of 1883 called for the construction of three outbuildings in addition to the main structure: a wood house of dimensions 11 1/2 feet by 12 feet for the storage of fuel wood (and later, coal), and two privies of dimensions 5 feet by 6 feet.

Of these, one original outbuilding survives, a privy, located at the northwest corner of the kitchen shed addition. a side-gabled structure, set on granite stones, and sheathed with vertical planking, with a door on the south facade and a small, single-paned window on the north facade. The other two outbuildings presumably removed with the construction of the kitchen shed in 1937. (continued) (o8, Form 100000 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page 2 OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 No. 4 Schoolhouse Barre, Massachusetts Archaeology While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the property, it is The parcel is located near several brooks aos weteantswsith ay presbeen favoraale aeapoated nvessesisteneana settlement activities.

However, because these areas are all over 1,000 feet from the school and because site densities in this area are low, the potential for recovering prehistoric remains on the school property is low. There is a high potential for significant historical archaeological remains on the property. Occupational-type features (trash pits and privies) may exist near the schoolhouse dating from the school construction in 1883 and Iwo privies were reportedly built with the school, one of which is still extant. Children also played around the school building during which objects were likely lost creating a type of sheet refuse around the school. 8. Statement of Significance

Statement of significance

Ceriying oficial has considared the signitican de br this propery inaerac, Mostar brerites nationally [x]locally Applicable National Register Criteria B Criteria Considerations (Exceptions) Areas of Significance (enter categories from instructions) Education Architecture D -G PiioditSgniicance Significant Dates Cultyral Affiiation Signiticant Pers0/A Archimes ildPotter State significance of property, and justify criteria, criteria considerations, and areas and periods of significance noted above. No. 4 Schoolhouse, Barre, a late nineteenth-century, one-room school, retains integrity of location, design, materials, workmanship, and association. The only intact, surviving district school of seventeen built in Barre, the structure served elementary-age children of northeast Barre from 1883 to 1930, and since 1937 has functioned as a civic center for the No. 4 Community Club. The No.

4 School represents an unusually well-preserved example of the type of schoolhouse associated with district educational systems of nineteenth century rural Massachusetts communities. As such, it fulfills Criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level. The lands which later became the town of Barre made up the northwestern section of the twelve-mile-square "Naquage" lands, nominally purchased from native Americans in 1686, and incorporated as the town of Rutland in 1714. Settlers began to arrive in the northwestern lands of Rutland by ca. 1720. By 1748, Rutland's Northwest Quarter had thirty families in residence, and in 1753 it was established as Rutland District. By 1764, Rutland District had a population of over 700, and the first school house was built, near the 1753 meetinghouse.

In 1774, Rutland District was incorporated as the town of Hutchinson, renamed Barre in 1776. Located on a highland plateau of central Massachusetts, the new town contained a good portion of high-yielding, readily cultivated soil, and once the lands were cleared of forest, the local agricultural economy prospered. the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as Barre, together with several neighboring towns, remained the leading region of Worcester County in dairy production and cattle-raising. By 1830, Barre's population had grown to over 2,500, and the meetinghouse center had developed as a flourishing village at the intersection of several major regional highways. [x See continuation sheet 9.

The rest of the file

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

Major Bibliographical References No. 4 Schoolhouse, Barre, Massachusetts Previous documentation on file (NPS): -preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested previously listed in the National Register previously determined eligible by the National Register designated a National Historic Landmark recorded by Historic American Buildings recorded by Historic American Engineering Record #_ 10.

Geographical Data Acreage of property Quad- Barre UTM References A 18 739 750 Zone Easting CLL 1.5 acres Scale- 1:25000 4703140 Northing XSee continuation sheet Primary location of additional data: [X State historic preservation office ]Other State agency Federal agency Local government University Other Specity repository: MHC Inventory of Historic Assets #114 BLI Zone Easting Norhing See continuation sheet Verbal Boundary Description see assessors map See continuation sheet Boundary Justification The bounds of the nominated property include the No.

4 Schoolhouse and the lot historically associated with the building- LSee continuation sheet hameftite Betsy Ffd Byeg, National Register Director/MC with Michael Steinitz organization_ Massachusetts Historical Commission _date February 1988 street & number 80 Boylston Street Boston _telephone (617) 727-8470 state Massachusetts _zip code 02116 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-000-e 8-86 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet 8 Section number Page 1 No. 4 Schoolhouse Barre, Massachusetts Population growth led to improvements in local education. A school committee was established in 1788, including Lt. Moses Smith as a representative of "ward No. 4." Town records of 1790 indicate the official formation of eight school districts, and the construction of schoolhouses. The site of the original No.

4 school is recorded as "twelve rods southward of Mr. David Underwoods Dwelling House, " a location on Williamsville Road north of the present No. 4 School. Forty-three families were recorded in District No. 4 at this time. Construction of the first No. 4 School was completed in 1792, with materials and labor donated by district residents. The first teacher is mentioned in town records of 1793: "1 order to David Underwood for bording (sic) Master Silas Partrage." This first building apparently proved inadequate, for soon after (ca. 1796) a new, brick structure was built at a new site on Farrington Road, and attendance subsequently rose to between thirty and sixty pupils. As an agricultural neighborhood with its share of prime farmlands, District No. 4 shared in Barre's prospering farm economy of the mid-nineteenth century.

The town remained a major dairying center, and between 1846 and 1850, local farmers reputedly brought 2.7 million pounds of cheese for sale at one store in town. More than 1,500 cows were kept on Barre farms, which led the state in hay and dairy production in 1865. More than 600,000 pounds of meat were also slaughtered and marketed annually. The progressive attitudes of Barre farmers encouraged the publication of the Farmer's Gazette here as show located in town. Progressiveness also extended to the educational sphere. A normal school for training teachers operated in town from 1838-1841, and a school for the education of the feeble minded was established in 1848. The town began to fund a high school in 1852, and formed one of the state's first public libraries in 1857. An active and generally successful rural population kept the brick No.

4 School well-supplied with students through the early 1880s. However, the town's school report of 1881-1882 commented that, "the patrons of No. 4 allow their children to spend their school hours in a very shabby building." The next year's report notes, "The rebuilding of No. 4 cannot be delayed much longer. It was condemned years ago." In 1883, the town at its annual meeting (continued) NPS Form 10-000-0 8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 2 Page OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 No. 4 Schoolhouse Barre, Massachusetts appropriated $1,200 to build a new schoolhouse at No. 4. A new parcel of land, east of the previous school site, was granted by Horatio Wheelock. The building conmittee was made up of James F. Davis, H. H. Brigham, and P. Mirick Harwood.

Little is known of the builder, James H. Potter, who was in residence in Barre at least between 1862 and 1894, and who was noted in th worcester County History of 1889 simply as a "building contractor.' Construction followed plans specified by the building committee, which clearly indicated a scaled-down version of the two-story District No. 12 School at Barre Plains, built by Charles Osgood in 1880. The building contract for No. 4 contains many references to the Barre Plains building. Student rolls for the new school up to 1901 show that No. 4 schoolhouse continued to hold classes of at least thirty to thirty-five pupils. In 1896, pupils of No. 4 were joined by those from District No. 9 School, which was closed.

While the names of the early district families all indicate British origins, by the mid-nineteenth century a significant number of Irish immigrants were arriving in Barre, attracted by growing employment opportunities in the town's manufacturing enterprises. By the 1880s these immigrants were clearly established in the town's northeastern districts, and Mullens. By the early 1900s, children of Italians (Manistos and Ottianos) and Poles (Jehlikas) were also in attendance. No. 4 School was always conducted by a single teacher. Typically, the pay was low ($8.00 per week in 1890), and the turnover high. In one twenty-year period, the school had thirty-three different teachers. From 1880 to 1930, Barre's population grew from just over 2,400 to just over 3,500; but most of this growth concentrated in the manufacturing centers in South Barre and Barre Plains.

In the rural districts, dairy production continued to thrive, particularly as the railroad connections of the 1870s and the 1880s made the marketing of fluid milk profitable for local farms. By the early 1930s, Barre was milking more cows than any other town in Worcester County. At the same time, however, farm consolidation between 1905 and 1935 ricts, one teaute na kept possession of No. 4 for several years for possible overflow use, but when the need did not arise, the building was. sold in 1937 to the No. 4 Community Club of Barre, a neighborhood civic organization. The club built a kitchen shed addition to the 1883 structure, and since 1937 the school has been used (continued) NPS Form 10-000e (8-85) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet No.

4 Schoolhouse Barre, Massachusetts Section number 8 Page 3 for reunions of students and teachers, annual meetings, Christmas parties, fairs, craft shows and demonstrations, art exhibits, and social pot-luck suppers. Archaeological Significance Since patterns of prehistoric occupation in Barre are poorly documented, any surviving sites would be significant. On a broader scale, sites found in rea would also contribute to our understanding of native settlement and sub. ,stence in the Central Massachusetts uplands and Worcester Plateau area. Historic archaeological remains described above here the potential for providing detailed information on the changing social, cultural, and economic patterns that characterized rural life in a Central Massachusetts upland town.

Analysis of occupational-type features offers the potential of gaining insights into the lives and education of students and thus learning about their families and the inhabitants of School District No. 4. In the manner, a study of District School No.4 can provide insights into the development of the town of Barre as a whole. aMB Accrover No. 1024-0018 (as Form 10.0000 Jnited States Department of the Interio Vational Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number. Page 1 OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 No. 4 Schoolhouse Barre, Massachusetts Barre, Town of. Records of Town Clerk, 1787-1811, Vol. I1. Town Clerk's Office, Barre, MA. Barre, Town of. Records of All the Transactions of the Town of Barre from January 1793 Respecting Citizens. Town Clerk's Office, Barre, MA. Barre, Town of. Annual Official Reports for Financial Year Ending December 1931, 1918.

Barre: Barre Gazette Press, 1932. Barre, Town of. Annual Official Report of the School Committee, Town of arre, School Year 1883-84. Barre: Barre Gazette Press, 1884. Brigham, H.H.; Davis, James F.; and Harwood, P. Mirick, Contract with Specifications. Barre: Building Committee for Schoolhouse No. 4 1883. Massachusetts Historical Commission. MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report - Barre. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Commission, 1984 "Old School Districts in Barre." Barre Gazette, July 10, 1947. Walker, Mathew. "Barre," in D. Hamilton Hurd (ed.) History of Worcester County- Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis and Co., 1889. 49 78 9> 88 WILLIAMSVILLE 84 ROAD 43 42 38 90 38 K RD. 38 E 52 38 3838 B I 38J 38 G 38| D 94 95 38 92 50 No. 4 Schoolhouse Farrington Road Barre, Massachusetts scale 1"= 400' 5l 53 38 A 37A 54 55 66AT 65 66 67 56 FARRING 37 B 37 82 35- 68 34 33 69 faut N°s.

Fomm 10000g United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page - OMB Approvel No. 1024-0018 NRIS Reference Number : SUPPLEMENTARY LISTING RECORD 88000711 Date Listed: 6/22/88 worcester County MA state N/A Multiple Name This property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with the attached nomination documentation subject to the following exceptions, exclusions, or amendments, notwithstanding the National Park Service certification included in the nomination documentation.

atrck Andus fr Signature of the Keeper 6/22/88 Date of Action ========== == Amended Items in Nomination: Period of Signinficance: 1881 was entered as a typographical as the beginning date; 1883 should have been entered for the date of the school's construction, as indicated in section # This information was : confirmed with Betsy Friedberg, MASHPO, by telephone on 6/22/88. DISTRIBUTION: rrrrrrrrprgprporwrwrrwrsr/ersorposomormmmm National Register property file Nominating Authority (without nomination attachment) 98000711 VASO Form - 17 'R" June 1984 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET No.

4 Schoolhouse Worcester County MASSACHUSETTS Substantive Review L resubmission - nomination by person or local government - owner objection L appeal Substantive Review: -sample Reviewer's comments: -request -appeal Working No. MAY 11 1988! Fed. Reg. Date: 2/7/8 Date Due:_ 6/9/88 - 6/25/88 Action: ACCEPT 6-22-88 _RETURN _REJECT Federal Agency: NR decision See SCR. technical corrections cited below substantive reasons discussed below Nomination returned for: 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? 7.

Description Condition -excellent -good -fair L deteriorated -ruins -unexposed - yes Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance -summary paragraph - completeness R ] clarity J alterations/integrity - dates - boundary selection Status Accessible Present Use L no Check one -unaltered -altered Check one -original site -moved date 8. Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) - summary paragraph - completeness -carity J applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context J relationship of integrity to significance J 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 title 13. Other date -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 * 4 District School house Farrington Ra. ( aka Williams Rd.) Barre, Ma. Photo. George Chapman 6/12/86 Neg. same, 10 Harrison Greenfreld, Mà: 01301 #1 of 5 Front ( south facade & east facade ) # 4 District School house Farrington Rd. (aka Williams Rd ) Barre, Ma. Photo. 6/12/86 George Chapman 10 Harrison Av. Greenfield, Ma. 01301..Neg. same location. # 2 of 5. West facade showing kitchen abutting privy. Note rock wall behind privy=N.property bound. No. 4 District School house Farrington Rd.

(aka Williams Rd) Barre, Ma. Photographer; George Chapman 6/12/86 Location of Neg. same, 10 Harrison Av. GreentieLa, #3 of I Front (south facade ) #4 District School house Farrington Av. ( aka Williams Av.) Barre, Ma. Photo; 6/12/86 George Chapman 10 Harrison Av. Greenfield, Ma. 01301..Neg. same location. # 4 of 5 ...Interior of privy west facade conditions of light adverse, expertise minimal Barre Plains Fire Dept. Prior status-- Barre Plains School Barre, Ma Photo. 6/12/86 George Chapman 10 Harrison Av. Greenfield, Ma. 01301 Neg. Same Location. # 5 of 5 ...Photo shows same perspective as photo showing froptoto southåwest facade of #4 schnnl halca ** *COMMISSIOTS Cormantealih vo ket* April 28, 1988 Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, DC 20013-7127 Dear Ms.

Shull: Enclosed you will find the nomination forms for the following properties: Amesbury, Lowell's Boat Shop, 459 Main Street Barre, No. 4 Schoolhouse, Farrington Road Chelsea, Downtown Chelsea Residential Historic District; roughly bounded by Shurtleff, Marginal, and Division Streets and Bellingham Square; HPCA #11031MA Dartmouth, Tucker Farm Historic District, 1178 Tucker Road Grafton, Grafton Common Historic District; Worcester, Oak, Millbury, Church, South, Upton, and North Streets; HPCA #11049MA They have been voted eligible by the State Review Board and have been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. Owners were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 30-75 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment. No comments have been received to date.

Sincerely, belsy tredte Betsy Friedber National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission BF/es Enclosure MAY I1 Massachusetts Historical Commission, Valerie A. Talmage, Executive Director, State Historic Preservation Officer 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470 Office of the Secretary of State, Michael J. Connolly, Secretary