Wilton Historic District No. 4

Interior view of a classroom, Hurlbutt Street School; Source: NRIS 96000774.
Town:
Wilton »
Year of Establishment:
1970
Overlapping Historic Designation(s):
LHD, NR, SR
District Authority:
Wilton Historic District and Property Commission
Link to Commission or Municipal Website:
Map:

Map of the single property district; Source- Information booklet on Wilton's Historic Districts and Historic Properties, Wilton Historic District and Historic Property Commission, 2007, SHPO Library, Hartford.

View photo
District Character:
Single property district
Features:

Buildings

Architectural Style:

_

Era:
19th Century
General description:

The Hurlbutt Street School is located in the central eastern part of the Town of Wilton, less than a mile from the Weston border. Facing east and sited quite close to this rural road, it is a wood- frame gable-roofed structure (20' x 27") with a gabled facade. There is a full-width, shed-roofed addition across the west (rear) elevation that dates from 1938 . To the rear of the building is a two-hole privy, a building associated with the school. The schoolhouse has a wood-shingled roof and white clapboarded walls. Corner boards and window and door trim are highlighted by a dark contrasting color. An open cupola with a bell is located near the front of the ridge. Its shouldered- arched openings are defined by narrow pilasters with capitals and a small hipped roof terminates in a plain finial. The privy, sheathed with vertical boards, rests on a foundation of unmortared stacked brick. Both the school and the privy were moved to this small site, which is only slightly larger then the building's footprint. It is bordered by low stone walls located about ten feet to the north and less than one foot on the south side. Originally located farther down the road to the south, the school was first moved in 1876-1877 to a new site immediately adjacent to its present location. Among the changes to the building at that time were the addition of the present cupola with bell and a full -width addition across the front for a vestibule and cloak room. The gabled roof of the vestibule had a slightly lower ridge than the original building. It is possible that the extant privy dates from this period as well. After the school closed as an educational facility in 1935, the land reverted to its private owners, necessitating a second move, this time just about ten feet to the north, where it was set on its present foundation and the now non- functional privy was placed on its temporary foundation. The front vestibule addition was removed, returning the school to its "original" appearance and a new addition was created at the rear of the building. x To access the addition, the windows in the rear wall of the school room were replaced by doors. [NR]

Significance of the district:

Architecture (Criteria C):A fine representative example of a nineteenth-century district schoolhouse and tangible expression of the longstanding commitment of the people of Wilton to education, the Hurlbutt Street School has served this neighborhood since 1834. After a century of service, the building, which is the only historic school in town preserved largely in its original state, became a community center and today is a living museum for the school children of Wilton. [NR]

District Boundary (according to the LHD Study Report, copied in 2010):

The district includes the property together with the buildings and improvements thereon known as the Hurlbutt Street Schoolhouse, more particularly described in Volume 46 at page 518 and Volume 48 at page 31 of the Wilton Land Records. [3]

Sources:

[1] District and Property information retrieved from the town website http://www.wiltonct.org/index.asp.
[2] Information booklet on Wilton's Historic Districts and Historic Properties, Wilton Historic District and Historic Property Commission, 2007, SHPO Library, Hartford.
[3] Assessors information and Parcel IDs retrieved from the website www.visionappraisal.com.
[NR] Cunningham Jan, Hurlbutt Street School, National Register Nomination Number- 96000774 NRIS, National Park Service, 1996 - http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/96000774.pdf; http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/96000774.pdf.

Notes:

In 1961, the Connecticut State Legislature enabled local municipalities to establish historic districts, and, since October 1, 1984, historic properties by ordinance, and to establish commissions which review and approve or deny alterations, demolitions, or construction of buildings and other structures within their boundaries and are visible from a public street, way, or place.At a Wilton Town Meeting in 1963 an ordinance was adopted establishing Historic District #1. Since then additional buildings were moved to the site, referred to as Lambert Corners, and the Board of Selectmen updated the ordinance establishing HD #1 in June 2005.A Town Meeting in 1970 established Historic District #2: Wilton Congregational Church, Old Town Hall, and neighboring residences, #3: the Sloan-Raymond-Fitch House historic property, and #4: Hurlbutt Street Schoolhouse historic property. At a Board of Selectmen meeting in June 2005, Historic District #5: the Wilton Historical Society Museum Complex was created. Former Historic District #3, the Sloan-Raymond-Fitch House, was moved to this site and is now included in this district; therefore, #3 was removed. The members of the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on April 4, 2007 to create Historic District #6: Georgetown Neighborhood of Church Street, West Church Street and Redding Road. The ordinance to officially establish Historic District #6 was approved by the Board of Selectmen on May 21, 2007. [ Town website]

Disclaimer:

Content for this website and district boundaries were compiled from several sources and are subject to change. Boundaries for LHDs may be different from those of State or National Register Districts. To verify the boundaries and particulars of a specific district, consult the LHD study report on file with the respective municipal authority or the State Historic Preservation Office.

Date of Compilation:
11/15/11
Compiler:
Manjusha Patnaik, CT Trust for Historic Preservation
Other links: