Category: Schools

Flagg School, Southborough (1859)

by Dan//Greek Revival, Schools, Southborough

In 1859, the Town of Southborough built five school houses in different parts of town, with the District 5 School house being located at the intersection of Flagg and Deerfoot Roads. In 1894, with the school house at Southborough Centre having fallen into disrepair, the District 5 school house was moved (and extended by ten feet) to replace it. After a new High School was built in 1906, the old school house, now known as the Flagg School, became home to the Southborough Fire Department until 1928. It later served the town’s Tree Department and then the Water Department. In 1998, the building was leased to the Southborough Historical Society, which renovated it. In 2000, it was dedicated as the Southborough Historical Museum.

Concord School of Philosophy (1880)

by Dan//Concord, Schools, Vernacular

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Adjacent to Orchard House (the home of A. Bronson Alcott and his family) is a building, designed and built by Alcott himself in 1880, which was originally called the Hillside Chapel and is known today as the Concord School of Philosophy. This school, which was organized by Alcott and operated from 1879 to 1888, was modeled on Plato’s Academy as series of of summer lectures for adults, with notable speakers and discussions of philosophy. For the first year, the sessions were held in Orchard House, but the following year and thereafter, the school met in Alcott’s Hillside Chapel. The school’s final meeting, in 1888, commemorated Alcott, who had died that year. Today, the building is part of the Orchard House museum. Continue reading “Concord School of Philosophy (1880)”

Sudbury Grange Hall (1846)

by Dan//Organizations, Schools, Sudbury, Vernacular

Sudbury Grange Hall

In 1846, the same year Sudbury’s original Town Hall (rebuilt in 1932) was constructed, a schoolhouse was built on the southeast corner of Sudbury Common. The structure was later raised to two-stories. The building, later moved to its current location next to the Town Hall, served as a school until 1890, when it was sold to the Sudbury Grange. In 2006, the building was acquired by the Sudbury Foundation and has been restored and modernized, with a new rear addition. The first floor is now the Foundation’s offices and the second floor is used by the Sudbury Grange and as a public meeting space by the town.

Lexington Masonic Building (1822)

by Dan//Greek Revival, Lexington, Organizations, Schools

Lexington Academy

Opposite the Battle Green in Lexington is the Lexington Masonic Building. It was originally built in 1822 to house the Lexington Academy, which only lasted eleven years. From 1835 to 1837, it was used for the Lexington Manual Labor Seminary, an early trade school, and in 1839 the building was taken over by the state to become the first Normal School in America. A school for the training of teachers, it was established by Horace Mann, who chose Rev. Cyrus Pierce to run it. This educational experiment proved successful and soon moved to larger quarters, first to Newton in 1844 and then to Framingham in 1853. The building was later used for tenements and a grocery store. It served as the Hancock Congregational Church from 1868 to 1893. The former school became a Masonic Lodge in 1917.

Lenox Academy (1803)

by Dan//Federal, Lenox, Schools

Lenox Academy was built in 1803, on Main Street in Lenox. According to Rev. Raymond DeWitt Mallary, in Lenox and the Berkshire Highlands (1902), wrote:

To be a graduate of Lenox Academy was not only a distinction, it was a passport to any college, and often to the sophomore class of a higher institution of learning. The papers of the day within a radius of a hundred miles refer to this preparatory school with glowing commendation. Its pupils came from widely separated portions of the country and the fame of its examinations, which were of unusual rigidity, attracted visitors from long distances, who repaired to their homes to spread the report of them. The tuition was very moderate, —$7 a term of fourteen weeks; and board reached the not exorbitant sum of “$1.25 to $1.50 per week in good families.” The tradition has survived that one pupil (long a distinguished educator and only lately deceased) ” lived like a dandy because he had rooms at the hotel, for which he paid $2 per week.” Lenox Academy flourished until 1866.

The building housed various schools until the 1920s and was saved from demolition in 1947 when the town took it over. It housed various public organizations and today it is the headquarters of the Lenox Historical Society, which operates the Museum of Lenox History.

Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield (1799)

by Dan//Deerfield, Federal, Museums, Schools

Memorial Hall

Deerfield Academy was founded in 1797 and a brick building, designed by Asher Benjamin, was built to house the school in 1799. The Academy later expanded and the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association purchased the old school building in 1877. The building was renovated and opened in 1880 as the Memorial Hall Museum, displaying a collection of objects gathered by antiquarian George Sheldon. Memorial Hall continues today as a museum of Deerfield history and an adjacent building houses the libraries of the PVMA and Historic Deerfield.

Classical High School (1898)

by Dan//Neoclassical, Schools, Springfield

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Springfield’s Central High School was built in 1897-1898 on State Street, on land formerly occupied by the county jail. It was adjacent to the older high school building of 1874, which then became the State Street Grammar School. The school was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Hartwell, Richardson and Driver. In 1922-1923, an addition for junior high school students was constructed on the western end of the building. In 1934, the name of the school was changed to Classical High School. The school closed in 1986 and was converted to become luxury condominiums.