The Washington District School House
The Washington Street Schoolhouse was moved to the Stone House Museum where it is being restored and used for education programs, lectures, and more! We will need $150,000 in order to accomplish this project. It will truly take a community!
You can get involved in this exciting restoration by contributing On-line or by mailing a check made out to the Belchertown Historical Association, P. O. Box 1211, Belchertown, MA 01007.Washington District School, the last intact one-room schoolhouse in Belchertown, was acquired in 2016 by the Belchertown Historical Association through a donation from Andrey Korchevsky of Bell Properties.With the help of a grant from the Community Preservation Committee, the structure was moved from Bardwell Street to the museum grounds. Repairs were done to the building, and on September 23, 2017, it was placed on a new foundation. Restoration of the schoolhouse continued in 2018. A cellar floor was poured, a new chimney was built, siding on the building was prepared for painting, and an interior hearth was added. We anticipate a new wood-shake roof will be installed in 2019. When the restoration is completed, the Historical Association plans to use the new building for lectures, exhibits, educational programs, and other functions.
Inside Work!
We are excited to start on the inside work of renovating the schoolhouse! The list of “to do’s” is very long (and costly), but it includes: wiring the building for electricity, including modern connections for wifi, heat and ac, overhead lights, etc.; installing vac equipment, insulating the building, refinishing the floors, building a staircase to the basement, enclosing the utility section of the room, setting up the coat area of the room (pegs); adding drywall and paint; hanging blackboard, clock etc.
Outside Work!
With the help of a grant from the Community Preservation Committee, the structure was moved from Bardwell Street to the museum grounds. Repairs were done to the building, and on September 23, 2017, it was placed on a new foundation. The moving and restoration of the schoolhouse is a very complicated project and we could not have moved forward without the dedication of several local supporters, led by Billy Austin, and including Tony Trifone, Rob Hislop, and Ken Hislop. The cellar floor was poured, a new chimney was built, siding on the building was prepared for painting, and an interior hearth was added. Next was the restoration of the exterior of the building, in order to stabilize it for future years. The authentic, cedar-shake roof was installed, the siding has been repaired and painted, the windows and front door are being replaced with period-appropriate replacements, and the installation of the steps and stonework finish the outside work. We are now connected to the new sewer line on Maple Street as well.
The Move
The process of moving the Washington District School to the museum grounds, placing it on a new foundation and beginning restoration of the historic building is extremely complicated. The Association is very thankful to Tony Trifone, Rob Hislop and Bill Austin for their help in guiding us on various aspects of this complex project.
Building a Foundation!
So far, it has been sprayed for powder post beetles and the joists have been repaired and sistered to make the house sturdy. The roof rafters and plywood base were repaired and put back in place; the school was covered with tarp again waiting for the foundation to be dug and poured.
Belchertown Washington Street School Bob Tilton 09-01-2016 from BCTV Belchertown MA on Vimeo.
