Restored Fisher School
History of Restoration of the Fisher School
With much support from
the community, the restored Fisher School opened on Sunday, December 5th,
1999 at a Dedication Program. The Westwood Historical Society had been
working since 1994 toward that day and appreciated all the encouragement
and advice along the way. The window shades, the last finishing touch to
the interior of the classroom, completed the restoration and construction
at the end of 2000.
The history of the
Fisher School is an interesting segment of Westwood’s educational
background. The school was built in 1845 on Clapboardtree Street in
District 9 of West Dedham and is the only one-room schoolhouse still in
existence in Westwood or Dedham. When Dedham schools were given names
instead of numbers in 1867, the District 9 School was named for Ebenezer
Fisher, a prosperous local farmer, legislator, and Revolutionary War
veteran who had bequeathed $600 for its support. The Fisher School was one
of three schools in operation in West Dedham when it became the
independent Town of Westwood in 1897. The school closed in 1905 when
enrollment dropped from a high of 40 pupils to 8. William Colburn
purchased the schoolhouse, moved it about 200 feet to its Milk Street
location, and used it for the storage of hay. Mr. Colburn or a later
farmer removed two side windows replacing them with a sliding barn door
(present east side). The wall of the recessed entrance was moved back to
make more space for hay. The building was placed on boulders from a nearby
stonewall which helped keep the structure ventilated over the years.
In 1994, the Board of
the Historical Society took the courageous step to accept the gift of the
school from owner Roger Pierce who transferred title for a fee of one
dollar. A fund drive was established to move the building from his
property on Milk Street/Meadowbrook Road and restore it to its 19th
century condition. At the May 1994 Westwood Town Meeting, voters agreed to
lease a site on High Street next to the Thurston Middle School to the
Westwood Historical Society for $1 per year. With its graceful Greek
Revival style architecture, the schoolhouse complements other historic
buildings in the area.
On the recommendation
of representatives from the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the
Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, application was
made to place the Fisher School on the National Register of Historic
Places. The schoolhouse is the cornerstone of the Fisher School/High
Street Historic District. Andrea Gilmore, then Director of Architectural
Services for the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities,
stated in her report: "Part of the uniqueness of the school is that
it has been altered so little in the 20th century. It is structurally
sound and watertight, the two most important criteria for assuring the
long-term preservation of a building." The 28' by 38' structure
retains many of its original features such as shiplap siding, handmade
clapboards with skived joints, plaster blackboards, chalk trays, paneling,
remnants of wallpaper, yellow pine flooring, and coat hooks.
The building was moved
down Clapboardtree Street in the fall of 1995 and placed on a new concrete
foundation at the High Street site. The exterior was restored to its 1845
condition replacing the farmer’s sliding barn door on the east side with
windows replicating the originals as well as restoring the recessed front
entrance with a door on either side, one for boys and one for girls. Some
blown glass panes remain in the two original windows located in the
coatrooms. Although the school was originally heated by a stove, a hot air
furnace with registers was installed to provide heat with as little
intrusion into the schoolroom as possible. Another concession to modern
necessity was wiring the building for electricity. An addition at the rear
was constructed so that the integrity of the schoolhouse would not be
compromised for modern conveniences. Although a door was cut through to
the addition, it was made to blend into the interior schoolhouse wall. The
rear wall was clapboarded as in the original schoolhouse although the
addition makes it an interior wall. The building is accessible to the
handicapped and includes two handicapped bathrooms, a small kitchen area,
storage space, and a stairway to the lower level. Linda DesRoches, an
intern in the Boston University Preservation Studies program, donated her
services and wrote the historic studies report. As technical advisor, she
analyzed the exterior and interior paint chips recommending the proper
paint to match the original paint colors.
The story of the
interior restoration is fascinating. The plaster blackboards were restored
by using a slating paint. The original lines for penmanship and musical
staffs will be restored. The chalk trays are all original, also the coat
hooks in the boys' coatroom. Pendant lighting fixtures, a turn of the
century style, were installed hanging from the restored plaster ceiling.
A large,
floor-to-ceiling, wooden vent, that had been installed in 1882 to prevent
carbon monoxide from building up in the classroom, was removed for
restoration. A large piece of original wallpaper with a Boston maker’s
name on the side, Josiah F. Bumstead, was discovered behind the vent. When
the school was rewallpapered in subsequent years, the air vent was not
removed. They papered up to it, not behind it. How fortunate for us that
this piece showing the original design was preserved and hidden from the
fading sun! The unique Gothic arch design of this paper, composed of a
four-colored pattern of three arches and a decorative column, was
reproduced by an artist, one arch being reconstructed. An interesting
development occurred in reproducing the wallpaper. A flaw was discovered
in the paper and there arose a dilemma of whether to reproduce the flaw or
to take it out of the design. The experts from SPNEA and the Waterhouse
Wallhangings disagreed. The decision was to reproduce the flaw as in the
original wallpaper, but not in the reconstructed arch. Will you be able to
find the flaw? The silk screens were then made, the printing of the paper
completed under the direction of Waterhouse Wallhangings, Inc, and the
reproduced paper hung over a paper liner base. The wallpaper, called
"Westwood Gothic" is available through Waterhouse Wallhangings,
Inc. with a small royalty benefiting the Westwood Historical Society.
Since the schoolhouse was originally wallpapered with such a classic
pattern, West Dedham must have placed a high value on education for its
children.
The landscape reflects
the way the schoolhouse appeared on its original site on Clapboardtree
Street, an appropriate 19th century school yard. The handicap entrance
blends into a walkway leading to the Thurston Middle School driveway with
connecting pebbled/stone walks to the front entrance. A farmer’s
stonewall is set in front of the schoolhouse defining a front assembly
area and a pathway to the lower driveway and entrance. The large granite
slabs for the schoolhouse front steps and walls are the Old Westwood
Cemetery (corner of High and Nahatan Streets) granite bases, which
supported the iron fence. Exterior lighting has been installed and the
flagpole attached to the front peak of the schoolhouse replicating the
original.
The restored
schoolhouse is a living history setting for school programs for students
from Westwood. Cooperative programs between the Westwood Historical
Society and the Westwood School Department are in place. In the spring of
2000 the "1800s School Day" program was initiated with all of
Westwood's 3rd grade classes experiencing a 19th century day at the
school. The living history setting is complete with appropriate furniture
for the restored schoolhouse, 19th century teacher's and students' desks.
In addition to the
school programs, the Fisher School will be a focal point for historical,
educational, and cultural activities in the community. The restored
schoolhouse will provide an ideal setting for changing exhibits of items
in the historical collection. The building itself is being used for
meetings and activities for all ages and groups of all sizes. The
schoolhouse is open the first Sunday of the month from 2 PM to 4 PM,
sometimes with guided walks into the immediate neighborhood including the
oldest church in Westwood, the cemetery, which dates from 1752, and the
home of Robert Steele, drummer boy at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
The Fisher School is
the long needed headquarters for the Westwood Historical Society and its
extensive collection of items pertaining to local history. The lower level
is used for storage, conservation, and curatorial research. Modular units
of storage rather than permanent wall structures are being used providing
the proper layout for the collection including special items, such as maps
and fabrics. The collection is being catalogued on the Society's computer
so that items can be easily found and information cross-referenced.
The Society has sought
private donations and grants rather than public funding from the Town.
Support from individuals, organizations, and businesses from Westwood and
surrounding towns has been outstanding. Through appeals, grants, annual
House and Garden Tours, dances, and sales of calendars and note cards, the
Historical Society has raised over $300,000 to cover the restoration costs
on a pay-as-you-go basis. However, funds continue to be needed to sustain
the schoolhouse and programs and to build an endowment for the future.
The Society has relied
solely on volunteers for its programming and fundraising. The Society
continues to draw on the broad community base for volunteers, to serve as
aides for school classes, programmers, curators, docents, secretaries,
building caretakers, and organizers of fund raising events. The opening of
the Fisher School has been an opportune time for the organization to
broaden its scope and become an increasingly vital force in the community.
The breadth of the programs planned involves a larger and more diverse
group of individuals. The establishment of the Fisher School as a center
of educational and cultural activities helps the Society in its efforts to
preserve the character and history of Westwood.
At risk of omission,
the many people who gave untold hours of volunteer work should be
commended. The architect of the project was the late Mark Young whose
plans guided the construction. Attorney Don Suchma assisted with the lease
from the Town and legal obligations, Rob Lawrence was project estimator,
Art Chapin was structural engineer, the late Norm Whiting and Jack Rudser
were overseers of the early construction. Joan Swann, then President,
oversaw the move and the early phases of the project. Andrea Gilmore and
Linda DesRoches were technical advisors. Vice-President Ralph Buonopane
steered the project to completion. Jerry Cronin as President, and his wife
Ann who wrote the thank you notes, played an important part as well. Mina
Otis created the period landscape design. Lura Provost as Secretary, later
President, and Joan Swann as past President, carried out the fund raising,
including publicity, grant writing, house and garden tours, and sales.
Libby Johnson was the treasurer and bookkeeper for the Fisher School Fund.
We are grateful for the cooperation of the Town of Westwood and the many
others who helped with a myriad of roles, too numerous to mention.
The general
contractors for the construction were R.T.P. Killelea and J.W. Anderson.
The plumbing was installed by Bill Jacobs of William Jacobs Plumbing &
Heating and the electrical work completed by Jim Reilly's company RELCO.
Babel's Paint and Decorating Store donated the paint, C. Peirce did the
painting, and George Munchbach, Jr. hung the wallpaper. Joe Petrucci was
the contractor for the grading, landscaping, driveway, and walks.
To celebrate the
opening of the Fisher School, the Westwood Historical Society commissioned
the Pairpoint Glass Factory in Sagamore, Massachusetts to produce a cup
plate. The design commemorates the Fisher School on its December 5th
Dedication. The glass plate is in the popular cobalt blue color with a
scalloped edge and features Margaret Philbrick's drawing of the
schoolhouse. The Pairpoint trademark and initials or monogram of the mould
engraver is on each cup plate.
With the opening of
the Fisher School, the Historical Society is proud that the only remaining
one-room schoolhouse in Westwood has been restored. The Society looks
forward to expanding its educational programs and serving the community.
For further
information about the Society or the Fisher School project, please contact
President Lura Provost at 781-326-1543.or email us www.westwoodhistorical@hotmail.com
