Address: North of 265-267 North Main Street
Contemporary Building Name: N/A
Historic Building Name: Northwest Schoolhouse, Factory District No. 2. School
Current Use: N/A
Historic Use: Schoolhouse
Style of Building: Greek Revival
Date of Construction: c. 1840
Description: The Northwest School was a small one-room school house, with a gable roof, and situated with a pediment front. The three-bay front included a paneled door in center, with flanking six-over-six double-hung windows with shutters. The door surrounds are stylistic Greek Revival, with pilasters, and entablature. The corners of the building also include pilasters. The pediment front is simple, and unadorned. The sides of the building include three six-over-six double-hung windows, with shutters. Atop the roof toward the front is a square cupola/bell tower with dental molding. At the back of the roof is a small brick chimney. The foundation appears to be made of stone.
Significance: The Northwest School was one of the last one-room schoolhouses in Marlborough, closing in 1949, when the new Mary Hall School opened. There are references to a “Northwest” school in the early 1800s when both Baptist and Methodist services were held within their structures. There is also a reference to an “obsolete schoolhouse” that sold for $6 in 1847. The “new” Northwest school was built on the Austin farm on North Main Street. The land remained in the possession of the Austin family, but the building belonged to the town. When the new Mary Hall School opened, the Northwest school was deserted, and left empty. Over the years, the building deteriorated, eventually falling in on itself. The cellar hole still exists (as of 1984).
Sources: Schwarzmann, Vi. “History of the Marlborough Schools,” in Know Your Schools, Marlborough, CT: September, 1970. A report published under the direction of the Principal of the Marlborough Schools.
Fowler, Janet. A History of Education in a Small New England Town—Marlborough, Connecticut. Storrs, CT: I.N. Thut Education Center, The University of Connecticut; c.1984.
Notes: Image taken c. 1908.