Exemplars from Community Works Institute

EXEMPLARS from Community Works Institute

West Hill School House: A Labor of Love

by J. David Book, Cabot Heritage Teacher

A few miles to the west of the village of Cabot is a tiny crossroads community known simply as West Hill. A hundred years ago, it was a quiet rural neighborhood, home to about two hundred hardy souls, many farms, a church, a mill, and a small one room school house. Today, there is little trace of that thriving community: a few houses, no church or mill, and only a few working farms. But as a result of efforts by the Cabot Historical Society and the Heritage class at Cabot School, the school house stands as a lasting monument to a long lost way of life.

Three years ago, students were brainstorming ideas that might make good service learning projects which would be underwritten by the Serve America component of Vermont Rural Partnership. Cabot was an original member of that consortium. A student suggested getting involved in the restoration of the West Hill School House, which had been in processsince the Cabot Historical Society had purchased the building from the Town for $1.00 in 1970. It was a natural fit: place-based, hands-on learning and a great opportunity to partner with a community organization.

Cabot School

Much of the physical restoration of the school had already been painstakingly and lovingly completed by Society members. The Heritage class (a high school elective course) focused on research, collecting artifacts, interior renovations, and the development of a living history program that could sustain the site as an ongoing community resource. Excellent progress has been made toward that end.

Students found that original records from West Hill School were collected in the Cabot Historical Society archives. This was a very fortunate discovery, since no school records from any of the other fifteen school districts that existed in 19th century Cabot have survived. Those records — 157 hand-written pages that cover the District #4 (West Hill) School Committee’s decisions and transactions from 1820 to 1893— are remarkable social documents. Among other interesting facts, they reveal:
cabot school

• local control was paramount;
• male teachers were paid twice the salary of female teachers for the same length term;
• teachers seldom taught at the same school for more than one year;
• teachers “boarded around” in the homes of their pupils, often changing homes each week;
• there were generally two terms: a summer term of eight to twelve weeks attended mainly by girls, and a winter term attended mainly by boys;
• parents of children attending school supplied a cord of firewood as a part of the tuition;
• the local school committee met monthly and was composed of men;
• the present school house was the second for the district and was used between 1854 and 1917;
• as many as thirty-five students may have attended a term;
• students as young as four and as old as fifteen are recorded as enrolled in one teacher’s attendance roster.

Many other items can be gleaned from these records. The Heritage class completed a twenty-nine page digest of highlights, which is available upon request.

cabot school

The practice of “boarding around” is a fascinating custom that deserves further attention. At the first meeting of the school officers of District #4, it was decided that the teacher “should not go over one mile to board.” From 1826 the board was usually auctioned off to the lowest bidder. They would take care of the teacher’s meals and bed. The students’ parents who lived at a distance from the schoolhouse or who for some other reason did not act as host, paid whoever “bid off” the service. The value of the board ranged from 60¢ a week in 1835 to $2.70 in 1866.

cabot school

Artifact collection has been a very enjoyable part of the project. Students looked at hundreds of pictures of one room schools across the nation and compiled a list of items which were in use at the time. Antique hunting has become an adventure. We have secured more than 50 old textbooks, all used in the era; slates and slate pencils, a wash basin, ink wells, school bell, water bucket and ladle, pencil box, lunch pail, tea kettle and a box stove. Other acquisitions in the works include a dry sink, kerosene wall-mounted lamps, a 38- to 48-star flag, and portraits of Washington and Lincoln.

Interior renovations have now been completed, including the construction of a teacher’s desk platform as well as a wall bench desk. Students used blackboard paint to create a blackboard area in the location of the original slate. Next on the agenda is to secure or construct an outdoor privy.

Cabot School

The final phase of the project will be to create a living history laboratory. This component would address how the building will be used after it has been sufficiently restored. It would focus on providing an opportunity for observers or participants to learn what an authentic one-room school experience really was like. This could be provided through tours, reenactments, workshops, or research laboratories conducted by students and adults for select audiences. This phase is by far the most demanding and creative.

A few of the possible approaches being considered are mentioned below.

1. Participants will study a selection of rhetoric (1820-60) from the collection of Henry Bissex and begin to search for similar authentic materials to secure for West Hill.

2. Participants will work with Henry Bissex to republish the renowned “Noah Webster Speller,” which sold more than one million copies. A relative of Noah Webster, Benjamin Webster, was the first settler in the Town of Cabot.

cabot school

3. Participants will work with other adults in the community to make oral histories and old pictures accessible to the public.

4. Participants will consider a marketing strategy to sustain the site as a learning laboratory beyond the duration of the grant. Site visits to places like Old Sturbridge Village and Shelburne Museum may be planned.

5. Participants will learn the art of interpreting historical artifacts in meaningful and attractive displays and presentations.

cabot school

As each phase of the project emerges, the students and community members forge a stronger bond and their appreciation of their community’s heritage deepens.

The curriculum and program exemplars showcased here have been contributed by educators in the field. Many were originally featured inCommunity Works Journal, or in Connecting Service-Learning to the Curriculum. We thank our contributing educators and their students for making their work available to us.

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