Restoration of the Little Schoolhouse

Restoration of the Little Schoolhouse

By Jon Alden

Community Events of Westport Back to Community Events Home Page

In May of 2005 the Community Preservation Committee won approval at Town Meeting to restore the Wolf Pit School (also called the Little School), the last remaining one-room schoolhouse in Westport. This remarkable achievement was only surpassed by the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Hopkinson and their children, the owners. It is the “best and last of our public buildings from the 19th century”. The Westport Historical Commission oversaw the $57,590 grant for the complete interior and exterior restoration of the building and surrounding land. Doug Keffer supervised restoration. Work started in January 2006 and continued until late June 2006. Community Events of Westport reported on the ongoing progress of the work.

In 1905 the Little School closed as a school and started her second life. In addition to being used as a schoolhouse for 30 to 40 students in eight grades, the building became a library, a village improvement society, a place where medicine was made, a residence, a WPA office, a distribution center for ration stamps and food, and a family cheese-making operation. The building has been vacant the last 60 years. It is absolutely incredible that after all those tenants, the interior including the original “black boards” remains pretty much the same as in 1833!

Editor’s note: The replacement Doric columns were hand made by Chadsworth Columns of Wilmington, NC. The Doric columns arrived over memorial Day weekend, and are now installed and painted. They look great! Thanks Doug and Wayne! Be sure to review the slideshow to see how these columns were manufactured. The restoration of the schoolhouse is wrapping up quickly with only the interior painting remaining. The exterior is finalized.

Doug and Wayne tackled the interior painting using rollers and hand brushes, and specially mixed paint and stain products. Walls, ceilings, closets, front hallway, woodwork, and wainscoting received the attention of these two craftsmen. Wayne then sanded the floor with a power hand sander, and applied oil as a protective finish. A little clean up and a few warm glances and Doug was off to Vermont, and Wayne went back to working on more current buildings. The Little School is ready for her debut. Nice job and thanks to all for their support in restoring this one-of-a-kind building.

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