Vergennes Schoolhouse
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44°22′38.75″N 73°13′45.16″W / 44.3774306°N 73.2292111°W
The Schoolhouse is an exhibit building at Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont. It was originally located in Vergennes, Vermont.
The town of Vergennes, Vermont built the schoolhouse about 1840 on land leased from General Samuel Strong, a War of 1812 officer and descendant of one of Addison County’s first families. In the terms of the lease Strong stipulated that the town pay him an annual rent of one kernel of Indian corn and use the property for educational purposes.[1]
The schoolhouse, although built at the height of Greek Revival’s popularity, reflects an amalgamation of architectural styling. Moderate classical elements include the arched door, sash windows, and projecting bell tower, while the split-gable and octagonal shape of the bell tower’s cupola reflect 19th-century Eclecticism that developed as local builders and craftsmen freely combined elements from different architectural styles. On the exterior, the bricklayer ornamented the one-room structure with a simple patterning of six rows of stretchers (horizontally-laid bricks) and one row of headers (end-laid bricks) that formed subtle bands circling the building.[1]
Relocation
When the Shelburne Museum relocated the Schoolhouse to its present site in 1947, the structure had been in disuse for many years. In preparation for the building’s restoration, the Museum created architectural drawings of the building’s exterior before removing the belfry and dismantling the brickwork piece-by-piece. The Museum replaced the original tinwork of the belfry’s dome with stronger copper, repaired its acorn finial, replaced missing windows, resurfaced the plastered interior walls, and re-hung the bell. The inclusion of desks, benches, and maps reflect the modest furnishings of a 19th-century rural school.[1]
One-Room Schoolhouse
One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural (country) and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room. There, a single teacher taught academic basics to five to eight grade levels of elementary-age boys and girls. For more information see One-room school