The Black River Academy is a historic school building on High Street in the village of

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

. Chartered in 1835, the school served as the town high school until 1938. The present building, a

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanes ...

structure built in 1888, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1972 for its architectural and historic educational significance. It presently houses the Black River Academy Museum, operated by the Black River Historical Society.

Description

The Black River Academy building stands on the south side of High Street, a short way west of the Ludlow village green. It is a three-story masonry structure, built out of load-bearing brick set on a granite foundation. It has a gabled roof with projection hip-roofed sections, and a four-story tower at one corner, topped by a truncated pyramidal roof. Windows are of a variety of sizes, but are generally set in round-arched openings. Bands of cut stone provide horizontal emphasis. The main entrance is in a deep recess under a round-arch opening. Roof lines of the main roof and tower feature corbelled brickwork at the eave.

History

Black River Academy was chartered in Ludlow in 1835 and operated as a school, serving as the Town of Ludlow's public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

until 1938, when a new school was built. The original academy building burned early in the school's history, and the school operated in a church for 44 years until this building was built in 1888.History of Black River Academy
, Black River Academy Museum website, accessed October 9, 2009
, Black River Academy Museum website, accessed October 9, 2009 Notable alumni of the Black River Academy include U.S. President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

; Rotary founder

Paul P. Harris Paul Percy Harris (April 19, 1868 – January 27, 1947) was a Chicago, Illinois, attorney. He founded the club that became the humanitarian organisation Rotary International in 1905. Personal life Harris was born in Racine, Wisconsin, to ...

; John Garibaldi Sargent, who was U.S. Attorney General during Coolidge's presidency; Vermont Governor William W. Stickney;

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

Ernest Willard Gibson Ernest Willard Gibson (December 29, 1872June 20, 1940) was an American politician and lawyer from Vermont. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served in both the United States House of Representatives (1923-1933) and United Stat ...

; Vermont Supreme Court Justice William H. Walker; and author and historian

Abby Maria Hemenway Abby Maria Hemenway (October 7, 1828 – February 24, 1890) was an American teacher, author and historian from the state of Vermont. Early life Abby Hemenway was born in Ludlow, Vermont on October 7, 1828. She attended Black River Academy, aft ...

.Some Famous Alumni of Black River Academy
, Black River Academy Museum website, accessed October 9, 2009 After the school moved out, the building was used for a time as a

convalescent home A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

. Since 1972, the building has housed the Black River Academy Museum, a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

of local history.

References

External links

Black River Academy Museum
{{Vermont High Schools Division IV Defunct schools in Vermont School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Museums in Windsor County, Vermont History museums in Vermont Buildings and structures in Ludlow (town), Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Vermont 1835 establishments in Vermont

Description

History

See also

References

External links