Quasset School

View of Quasset School; Source- Town website
Historic/Common Name:
District No. 4
Address:
_ Frog Pond Road
Town:
Woodstock »
Year:
c. 1858
Historic Designation:
LHP, SR
Property Authority:
Historic Properties Commission
Features:
Buildings
Historic Use:
District Schoolhouse
Present Use:
Museum/ Classroom
Architectural Style:
Vernacular Greek Revival
Era:
19th Century
Map:
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Eligible for Historic Home tax credits:
Yes
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General description:

Town records indicate that this structure was built c. 1858 on Quasset Road to replace a 1748 building, 16 feet square. The present building moved to this site in 1954 is 24 X 30 feet, constructed of brick laid with every seventh course all headers, with stone lintels over the door and window openings. The facade has two windows either side of a central door, the sides each have three windows, and the end has two windows. The present chimney is offset to the left of the roof ridge (the original was centered).

Significance of the property:

This is one of several surviving 19th century schoolhouses in Woodstock. Its significance lies in its preservation, its condition, its present use as a museum under the stewardship of the Woodstock Historical Society, and in its symbolic importance as a duct of an early, Town-wide preservation effort in the early 1950's by the Citizens of Woodstock. The removal and reconstruction of the schoolhouse was occasioned by the threat of demolition of this building which had continued to serve the town as a schoolhouse until the 1940's. As a monument to publicly-supported education in the town of Woodstock, the schoolhouse was saved through a popular citizens effort spearheaded by Mr. Albert Williams and re-erected to serve as a museum of education in Woodstock. It continues to function in that capacity to this day, serving the students of Woodstock through special programs. The significance of the site and the town's attachment to the project are further illustrated by the number of memorial plantings made over the years around the schoolhouse by various individuals in the Town of Woodstock. [2]

Relationship with the Surroundings:

The Quasset Schoolhouse is located in a predominantly residential area , on the Woodstock Public School grounds on an open expanse of lawn between the School building and Frog Pond Road. Surrounding it are a number of trees and shrubs planted at the time of the dedication of the reconstructed schoolhouse in 1954 and subsequently on other occasions.

Ownership:
Public
Owner:
Town of Woodstock
Sources:

[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://www.townofwoodstock.com/.
[2] Quasset School, Frog Pond Road, Woodstock, Historic Resources Inventory, McClellean Jean, 1991, SHPO Library, Hartford.
Assessors information retrieved from the website www.visionappraisal.com

Map of the historic property retrieved from the Historic Resources Inventory, SHPO library, Hartford.

View PDF
Date of Compilation:
12/31/11
Compiler:
Manjusha Patnaik, CT Trust for Historic Preservation