Progress to report on the Woody Hill School restoration

We're finally on our way to having major restoration work done on the Woody Hill one-room schoolhouse! At our last meeting on March 25th, Planning Board member Mike Abbott briefed us on the paperwork he's done so that the ACTUAL work can get started. Bids on the specified restoration are due back by April 26th, and Mike will present the eligible contract proposals to the Exeter Town Council at their May 3rd meeting.

The building itself will be restored to the way it looked when it was built in the 1800's, using hand-sawn timbers and non-commercial windows and window panes. After the work is complete, the interior desks, chairs, blackboards and woodstove will be placed back inside, and the school will look as it did when it closed in 1942.

We are all VERY excited about the upcoming work, and are anticipating all the visitors that will be able to see this fascinating piece of Exeter's past.

Our new logo!

We've got a draft design for a new logo! Visibile above is a logo designed by EHA Board of Directors member Gary Boden. The idea for the logo came from a brainstorming session of EHA members a few months ago. We wanted a stylized picture of a water wheel and mill, reminiscent of the one that can be seen from Ten Rod Rod on the eastern end of our town, evoking Exeter's past. Gary came up with a great design, which he incorporated in to a complete logo. We're still working on fine-tuning the font and color - but we think it looks fabulous already!

Halloween treat! Exeter Historical Cemetery program - Oct 31, 2009

Get into the spirit of Halloween by attending an afternoon talk on October 31 at the Exeter Public Library. "Beyond Mercy Brown: Exeter's Historical Cemeteries" promises to be a hauntingly a good event.

Click here to read the real truth about Mercy Brown (ProJo article from October 30, 2008).

We have money to help repair Woody Hill School!

Great news! Sheila met with Exeter Town Council and Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission folks in mid-July to talk about money that had been earmarked some years back for repairs at Woody Hill School. She is happy to report that the money, totaling about $33,000, will be released for use for this project!

Our current plan is to restore the school so it will look as it did when it closed in 1942. These plans are tentative though, as we need to have everything approved by Virginia Hesse, of the RIHPC. But this is very exciting news, and their willingness to release these funds is directly a result of the efforts of all of us at the Exeter Historical Association! Stay tuned for more news...or better yet, come to our next meeting!

Recap of Annual Meeting

Our first Annual Meeting was held on June 16th. A short business meeting was conducted first. Those members of the Board of Directors whose terms were expiring were voted in for another 3-year term. In addition, we added new Board member Jeanne Abbott.

Following the business meeting, those in attendance enjoyed refreshments and were treated to a very interesting presentation about genealogical and historical information that can be found in our One Room Schoolhouse records, compiled by Sheila Reynolds-Boothroyd and Barbara Carroll. The slides have been uploaded to our Flickr account, and you can view them here.