Roughly 30 Newtown High School architectural design students and their chaperons met Town Historian Dan Cruson on Thursday, October 22, to tour Main Street.

The tour began at Edmond Town Hall, where Mr Cruson’ s office is located.

Business Education and Applied Tech Department Chair and architectural design teacher Erik Holst-Grubbe introduced Mr Cruson to the students.

“He’s a rich resource that we have, Mr Holste-Grubbe said. “We’re just going to take a walk and look at some of the different styles [of buildings].”

The students were encouraged to take notes and photos during the tour.

After speaking with students in front of Edmond Town Hall, Mr Cruson led the students to the Matthew Curtiss House, the oldest house on the street.

When Main Streetwas first laid out, in 1709, Mr Cruson told the students it would have stretched from house-front to house-front, but during the “mud season” the wider stretch of dirt for the road would have allowed carriages or wagons to avoid sinking.

Just before crossing the street, Mr Cruson asked the students to describe the Matthew Curtiss House.

Mr Cruson and the students spoke about the Matthew Curtiss House’s salt box-style’s shape, its roofing, the slope of the building’s roof, the size of its window panes, and more details.

According to Mr Holste-Crubbe, this was the first time he brought a group of students to tour Main Street, and the tour was “excellent.”

After discussing the Matthew Curtiss House Mr Cruson continued the tour up and down the street.

The group stopped for sandwiches at the Newtown General Store before concluding the tour by looking at the murals painted by David Merrill insideEdmondTown Hall.

“That’s where we ended, and [Mr Cruson] got a big round of applause,” said Mr Holste-Grubbe.

When back at Newtown High School on Friday, October 23, Mr Holste-Grubbe said he spoke with his students more about the tour and one student said, “Ten out of ten, would go again.”