Woody Hill School - again! But this time, restored!

On May 18th, three members of the EHA Board had an on-site visit with Brian Patch, who has been working on renovating the  Woody Hill School.  The desks are back inside; the stove is about to be reinstalled; windows and doors almost completed.  The outhouses were inspected to see if they could be salvaged.  Plans are being made for the opening in late June or early July - hopefully along with our annual One Room Schoolhouse Reunion event! (Many thanks to Gary Boden for taking these pictures!)

Sheila Reynolds-Boothroyd, Karen Colberg, and Gary Boden
discuss the renovations with Brian Patch (far left)

...maybe we can even restore the outhouses!

Do you remember what Exeter looked like before Interstate 95 was built?

It seems like just about everyone on the East Coast takes Interstate Rte 95 for granted. Whether you revere it or curse it, or do a bit of both, the road has become part of our culture.

But how many remember what was there before the highway? What homes or business existed before the construction? Which intersections are no more, and which roads were rerouted or cut off? 

If you lived in Exeter before the highway came through, consider gathering your memories and photographs of life before I-95 for a joint project with the Richmond Historical Association, to be published in an upcoming book.  RHA is currently gathering stories about Richmond and Hopkinton, and they would very much like to includes stories about Exeter too.

Check out the Richmond Historical Association web page for a short explanation about the project! And email us at exeterhistory@yahoo.com if you have recollections of life in the slow lane to share.

Of Schools and Town Halls

EHA members came out of hibernation on  Thursday March 3 for an update on our current projects!

Woody Hill School Sheila reports that all the interior work is finished, and the original furnishings have been put back in the building. The windows have also been redone, but will not be re-installed until the doors are refinished and replaced. She also reported that shutters were made for the windows as well! We are all looking forward to seeing the completed work once the nicer weather arrives. We're hoping to have a Woody Hill School restoration ceremony on the same weekend as our annual Exeter One Room Schoolhouse Reunion, sometime in June.

Pictures of Woody Hill School, taken December 2010 by Gary Boden:

..waiting for restored doors.

We hope to restore the outhouses too!

Town Hall Project Wouldn't it be great to turn the never-used old Town Hall  back into a hub of activity again?  The building was the center of town activity in the 1800's, and was used as a schoolhouse until 1952,  but now is all but forgotten. EHA members are currently working on securing a grant to move the old Town Hall building, currently located at the intersection of Ten Rod Rd and Town Hall Rd.,  onto a new foundation near the Exeter Public Library.  Not only would we save and restore a historic building, but we could also use it as a public meeting place, as well as a museum to house and display Exeter's treasures. Stay tuned for updates!

Making progress on all fronts!!!!

If you missed the January 6th meeting of the Exeter Historical Association, you missed a lot of news!

First off, the Woody Hill School restoration project is almost complete. All of the contracted restoration work is done. In addition, the Exeter Town Council voted to allocate additional funds that were slated for the Old Town Hall to be used to restore the front doors of the school - something that was not in the original restoration plan. In the coming months, Woody Hill School's official  celebration will take place. All of this information will be posted here, of course! And pictures too!

Second bit of news: We are starting to come up with a plan to move the Old Town Hall, currently located on Old Ten Rod Rd, over to the property where the Library is currently located on Rte 102. The building now sits in an area of town that does not get much traffic. Let's be honest - how many in town even know there's a Town Hall on Town Hall Rd?  At the same time, the Exeter Historical Association has no real place to store items and papers of signficance, and even the new Library is short on space. So how about we both save an old and beloved building, and give the town another meeting place? It will take lots of work (and some luck!) to pull the plan together, but we're optimistic that it will happen.

And last but not least: We have our 501 (c) 3 status!! Ok, well almost. But we're a stone's throw away from being an official non-profit organization, which will allow us to do lots of stuff such as apply for grants. A HUGE thanks to our friend Pete Lacouture for his pro bono work on the application.


So all this news qualifies are pretty darn exciting, around these parts.  Dontcha think?

Woody Hill School Renovation Project

After its doors were closed in 1942, no one knew what would happen to the one-room school house on Woody Hill Road.  The building where the children of Exeter School District No.1 had been educated no longer had a teacher, and the pupils had transferred to the Lewis school.

For decades, the building remained unoccupied, quietly suffering the annual freeze and thaw, windstorms, rain and destructive activities of small animals, insects, and human vandalism.  Several years ago, the Exeter One-Room Schoolhouse Committee, along with the Exeter Town Council, secured a grant from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission to halt the deterioration and restore the building for use as a place to teach about Exeter’s history. 

Renovation finally began this summer after carefully determining what work needed to be done to preserve historical authenticity of the structure.  Preliminary inspections showed that the plaster ceiling had deteriorated beyond repair so was removed after the interior furnishings – desks, woodstove – had been moved to a temporary storage unit on site.  Rotted rafters and windows are being replaced as are the termite-eaten sills and floor joists and new doors are being constructed. All work is being done by Brian Patch of PlanB Construction ,who is certified for renovation work on historic buildings.

Work begins by bringing in a temporary storage unit and dumpster.

Furnishings and construction materials are kept in a locked storage unit on site.

Keeping the building level while severe damage to the sills is repaired.

Deteriorated rafters are replaced with new lumber while the original structure is preserved as much as possible.

Photos courtesy Sheila Reynolds-Boothroyd.