Date: Fri 15-Jan-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

Gray's-Plain-School-history

Full Text:

SIDEBAR: Want To Help Save Gray's Plain School?

By Jan Howard

The Newtown Historical Society is looking for people to serve on a committee

to explore the possibility of saving the Gray's Plain one-room schoolhouse,

the site of one of the town's historic schoolhouse disputes.

Town Historian Dan Cruson said this week that there is a limited amount of

time to consider saving the schoolhouse because it has been deteriorating

since a branch fell through its roof three years ago.

"There is a fair amount of sentiment to save it from people who live around

it," he said.

Mr Cruson said the Historical Society has approached the owner, who appears to

be interested in selling the structure.

The building was renovated into a dwelling after it was no longer needed as a

school, but it has been unoccupied at least since 1989, Mr Cruson said.

He said it does not appear there is any other damage besides the roof, but

there will be interior damage if the roof it not fixed.

The condition of the interior of the building is unknown since no one has as

yet been inside.

"I'm not sure if we would move the building," Mr Cruson said. "Ideally, we

would keep it on the original property."

He said he is not sure how old the building is. "It might be one of the oldest

schoolhouses. Though it's been remodeled, some of the original structure

exists. We won't know until we get into it."

Mr Cruson said the committee would explore uses for the schoolhouse. "There

are a range of possibilities," he noted. "It could be moved to an existing

school, such as we have done before with Middle Gate, or it could be an

independent museum." It could be restored to its original condition or adapted

in some other way, he said.

The first step is to see if the community would support developing a plan to

save the school, according to Elin Hayes, president of the Newtown Historical

Society.

Once a plan is developed, the committee would address how to fund a purchase

and explore the means needed to make repairs, the first of which would be to

repair to the roof. "That has to be done within a year," Mr Cruson said.

Unfortunately, if the community does not demonstrate support, the Historical

Society is not in a position to save the building at this time, Mrs Hayes

said.

To volunteer to serve on a committee to look into ways to save the Gray's

Plain schoolhouse, call the Newtown Historical Society at 426-5937.