Schoolhouse days: Come to class on May 28 at West Lane’s one-room Peter Parley School!

The season of Last Sundays at the Schoolhouse will begin on May 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Peter Parley West Lane District Schoolhouse in the intersection of West Lane, South Salem Road,  Silver Spring Road, and Peter Parley Road.

Preserved as a museum of early education in Ridgefield, the schoolhouse is furnished as it was when the school closed in 1915. It had served district students since 1756, with the original school expanded and rebuilt over the years.

A special treat on Sunday will be a class for children of all ages, a taste of early 19th Century schooling, led by Dr. Darla Shaw and Barbara Kaplan, both veteran teachers. Dr. Shaw has recently been leading classes, with B.G. Brown, at the schoolhouse for visiting Farmingville School third grades. The presentation will begin at 2:30.

Stop by to see this piece of Ridgefield history and learn about some of the students who attended this school; learn about all of the other district schools and what’s become of them. 

The schoolhouse will also be open for Sundays at the Schoolhouse on June 25, July 30, Aug. 27, Sept. 24 and Oct. 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. as well as for Connecticut Open House Day on Saturday, June 10, also from 1 to 4 p.m. Jack and Sally Sanders, Ridgefield Historical Society volunteers, will be greeting guests and answering questions.

Ridgefielders since 1968, Jack and Sally Sanders live in the 18th Century Captain David Olmstead house. Both had decades-long careers in community journalism, Jack as editor of The Ridgefield Press and Sally as editor of The Redding Pilot and later as arts editor for Hersam Acorn Newspapers (now part of the Hearst publications). Jack has written 10 books on Ridgefield history and continues to research and write the town's stories. Sally is a volunteer and board member with the Ridgefield Historical Society and writes its quarterly Scott House Journal.

Schoolhouse admission is free; donations are welcomed. More information is available at https://ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org/

 

R
Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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