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Woodbury Graded School
Photograph courtesy of the Vermont Division for
Historic Preservation
Historic view of Woodbury Graded School, circa 1910
Photograph courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society |
The town of Woodbury Vermont had been served by several small
scattered schoolhouses until 1914 when the centrally located
Woodbury Elementary School was constructed. Architecturally, it
is an excellent example of an early 20th-century rural Vermont
graded school. Its construction and history embody the economic
and social history of the community, while its prominent
location in the center of the town attests to its importance.
Several factors led to the construction of the
new school. Statewide, large centrally located schools, like
Woodbury's, replaced smaller scattered district schools after a
1892 Vermont State law turned educational control over to
individual towns. The construction of these schools was
influenced by the State Board of Health's standards, which
beginning in 1904, called for adequate sanitation, ventilation,
and lighting. The Woodbury Elementary School was a thoroughly
modern school with large banks of windows, steam heat, and
indoor plumbing, quite a contrast to the ten modified houses
which had served its school children in the past. The town of
Woodbury experienced a major economic and population boom at the
turn of the 20th century spurred by the discovery of local
deposits of granite. It was during this boom period in the
town's history that it needed, and could afford, to build a new
modern school, aligned with statewide standards and proudly
located in the center of the town.
Four classrooms comprise the first floor of the
school, while a large gymnasium/auditorium fills the second
floor. This auditorium was often used as a public hall because
of its large size and the school's central location. The school
has experienced very little alteration, and today continues to
provide education for Woodbury children in grades K-6. |