Editor's note: The Little Red Schoolhouse (aka Peter Parley Schoolhouse) was open for visitors this past Sunday. This prompted some comments and questions on the Hello Ridgefield Facebook Page in regard to the old schoolhouse and its history. We thought we'd bring back a story we wrote in 2010, just after the schoolhouse received a needed renovation.
There is a place in Ridgefield where time has stood still for nearly 250 years. The Little Red Schoolhouse, known to some as Peter Parley Schoolhouse or West Lane Schoolhouse is located on a small piece of land surrounded by a triangle of roadway where Route 35 meets West Lane and Peter Parley Road. The original dark-wood floor boards, ornamental gooseneck lamps, decorative rosette window casings, unique curved ceiling (created so the teacher's voice would carry toward the back of the building) and woodstove are bound to give visitors goose bumps. Fifteen desks that have blanketed the floor of the schoolhouse since 1890, remain. Passersby can't help but marvel at the building's exterior Old World charm: the original flagpole, tall steeple, and bell tower.
In 1915, the door of the schoolhouse closed, the flag was taken down and the bell no longer beckoned the young. The door wouldn't reopen again until 1961 when the Ridgefield Garden Club took the schoolhouse under their wing. "In 1961, the Garden Club ladies put in electricity, heat and painted the exterior- they really perked it up," says Garden Club member Donna Warren. In addition, club members volunteered as "docents"; opening the schoolhouse so visitors could take a look inside.
Why, after almost 50 years, is the schoolhouse getting so much attention? Last fall, Ridgefield Garden Club president, Mary Swett, asked club member, Donna Warren to "be in charge" of The Little Red School House. "What Mary meant was for me to open the house once in a while," explains Warren. But, Warren, whose mother taught in a one room school house in 1917, had a deep-seated passion for history, education, children and her beloved Ridgefield. "I was embarrassed because I didn't know much about Peter Parley or the schoolhouse and, as docents, we had nothing to offer visitors," admits Warren. "I decided I wanted to make a museum and learning center out of the schoolhouse," she adds.
"The first thing we did was clean the schoolhouse. My husband [Carl] and I scrubbed the walls and floors, there were layers of dirt," explains Warren. With the help of some dedicated people including town historians Kay Ables and Jack Sanders, Warren was able to brush the cobwebs off of some fantastic learning materials which now adorn the interior. "Kay Ables found an original 1854 map where there are territories, no states…it's oil coated cloth," says Warren. Research on Ridgefield's history, done by Jack Sanders, enabled Warren to create a wall poster displaying Ridgefield's historical timeline. "It begins in 1754 and stops in 1915 when the schoolhouse closed and World War 1 began. It shows Ridgefield as it intertwines with Peter Parley, the wars, the government and the presidents," explains Warren.
Warren's son, Tom, a photo journalist, helped his mother create an entertaining and educational movie. "My first thought was to have some sort of a video as an attraction so people could get an overview of Ridgefield and Peter Parley," explains Warren. In the video, "Peter Parley Pays a Visit", The Little Red Schoolhouse's most famous student, Samuel Griswald Goodrich who operated under the pen name "Peter Parley", takes the audience down "memory lane" from his recollection of being a student at the schoolhouse (his only "formal" education) and a resident of Ridgefield, to becoming a famous author and publisher and state senator.
Warren credits a local carpenter named Charlie Bartholet for much of the interior structural improvements. "You can't imagine a man putting in so much effort; he put in a wall that matches the original wall and fixed the ceiling; it was falling down, " explains Warren. Bartholet also did something no one has attempted since 1915. "He got up on a ladder and got the flagpole working and we hung a flag; I was so touched when I saw that flag flying," exclaims Warren.
The Little Red Schoolhouse, now a museum and learning center, is open the last Sunday of every month from 1-4pm or you can call: 203.431.0563 to schedule an appointment to visit - all school groups, scouts, brownies or other town groups are welcome. "All they have to do is call and we'll have someone here to let them in, " says Warren.
"How interesting to study about education in the 1800's and then come to see it. I love history- if I can instill that in any child, I'd be delighted," proclaims Warren.
*The Article appeared in Ridgefield Magazine.