After the party, we stopped by an old schoolhouse that sits on a quiet road in Castleton-on-Hudson.
We knew nothing about it – there are no signs or anything explaining what is there. We had no idea whether it was a schoolhouse or old church hall – as there was also an old cemetery there as well. Isn’t it just gorgeous? I felt like I had been transported to an episode of Little House on the Prairie!
The minute we got home tonight, I started searching. I found out it is known as Clove Road School (District School No. 3) and it was built around 1878. The cemetery in the schoolyard is pre Civil War which we guessed as there was one headstone that we could still read and it was inscribed with 1853. Here is more information from the National Register of Historic Places.
There is a little Wikipedia entry on it too and there are two footnotes that link to the official reports with two photos of the interior. There was also a small shed on that was used to store coal and also a garage for the headmaster. Back in 2000, a grant was provided to fix some structural issues but it seems that is all that has been done. It has so much promise – I will make sure I keep up to date on this gorgeous piece of Americana that is, for some strange reason, in amazing condition for such an old structure.
Here are some more photos –
