The Start of the Quest
Marlborough
August 17, 1981
The
Marlborough Enterprise
by
David Jrolf
Staff
Writer
MARLBORO - Surrounded by features from the past and present, a house stands on Preston Street filled with memories of school days long ago.
It is now the Kris Dee Modes Dress Shop, located at 5? Preston St. It is also believed to have once been the old Mitchell School, and before that the old Pleasant Street School.
Long dormant blackboards situated behind the modern walls attest to the building's use long ago as a school. Records show the schools did exist, and an old photograph seems to link the dress shop featuring new-fashion garments, modern carpeting and interiors, with the old blackboards, ancient bricks in the basement walls, and hardwood floors of the old Mitchell School.
Deta Benway and her husband, Harold, reside in the house now, and she said the place is full of memories of its history. The Benways have worked at restoring the house in the 10 years they have owned it, but there is plenty of proof of the school's long-ago existence. Overlooked by a huge old tree guarding the front lawn, the big white house looms high above the buildings surrounding it in the quiet neighborhood. Its two floors both contained the legendary blackboards behind the walls, Mrs. Benway said.
Records from the Marlboro Public Library and previous Enterprise-Sun editions suggest the school existed sometime between 1885 and 1910. Mrs. Benway is thrilled with the obvious charm of the old school, and the memories that linger throughout the house. It is difficult to determine what exists from the school's history and what has ac cunulafed through the yearn of different owners, but the dress shop proprietor is confident some of the relics belong to the days of the old Mitchell School.
The old cracked beams in the cellar, the blackboards hiding behind the wallpaper, the early 1900s-type kitchen cabinets, the chain-pull commode and old-fashioned bathtub that had been of the house, and the deteriorating chimney all indicate the days of the school.
It seems ironic to Mrs. Benway that both she and her children attended ."age recently closed down Mitchell School. She will particularly miss the little children walking to school every day past her house on Preston Street, and the excitement they displayed marching to school all dressed up on their first day of class. Mrs. Benway believes the old Pleasant Street School was moved to Preston Street and became the old Mitchell School, before the new Mitchell School was built in 1925.
"I always felt a little nostalgic about the house, especially when we did the walls over and found the blackboards," she said.
Pictures
taken by Blair Gaulin in 1970 during remodeling of apartment
The Benways have put a great deal of work into rebuilding and restoring the vintage house, but Mrs. Benway speaks with love and pride of the old school and new house that her family now lives in. While constructing a swimming pool in the back yard, workers discovered a large horse path that is believed to have led to a barn near the school, she said. An old photograph from a history of Marlboro displayed a barn near the old school. Most of the plumbing system, which dated back to the early 1900s, has had to be replaced also, she said.
The greatest link to the old school house, besides the blackboards, is located in the basement, where much of the past is blended with the present. The old brick walls surround a small basement. The words, "Go Out This Way" are painted on the wall, but it is not known how or when they were placed there.
Is it possible that the house owned by the Benways was the old Pleasant street school? A comparison of the two structures show that there are similarities.
The
features are very similiar. If this is the house, then the two "wings
would have been removed
prior
to the moving of the structure and possibly the third floor with the roof
being lowered. The
foundation
would be new to the house and possibly made from the stones removed from
the original
cellar
and replaced on this site. However, according to the article, there
was a barnin the rear of the
house
were it stands today. This may mean that there was another structure
sitting on the site.
The
above pictures - block print late 1800's, the house as it looks today.
It was not uncommon to move a structure in the past. Many of Marlborough's older homes were just picked up and hauled to a new spot. Dr. Edward Barns memoirs record the day he and his young friends watched the razing and moving of the William Gates house down by Lake Williams. According to the Massachusetts Historical Commission records, there existed a 1 1/2 story house located on the westerly side of Pleasant St. was turned and relocated to 208A to make way for new houses. This occurred early in the 1900's. There are many mentions of other structures being relocated. Considering the cost of material versus the cost of labor, it was probably less expensive to move than tear down and build new.
The
section of a map to the left was drawn in 1875 and shows the school configured
(with wings) as shown in the block print. The land, as can be seen,
was owned by F. A. Howe. Preston Street did not exist nor did Mountain
Ave. and Maplewood Ave was known as Howland Street and it continued across
Elm to Lincoln Street.
The
move would be a simple one after the structure was readied. It would
be drawn down the hill to where it currently sits as shown by the probabl
path indicated by the gray dotted lines.
This
section of a 1879 G.A.R. map continues to show the school and the abscense
of Preston Street.
Finally,
a map section of the 1900 map shows Preston Street coming from Russell
Street and meeting Mountain Ave. Mountain Ave. continues to
Pleasant Street. That section of Howland Street that connects to
Russell Street is now called Maplewood Ave. and Allen Court becomes a reality.
The school building is still shown as a black square.
The new Pleasant Street school, now named the Mitchell school, was built in 1925, which would coincide with the probable time when the wooden Pleasant Street school structure would have been moved. Nothing in the two books ( Charels Hudsoon's and Ella igelows) discuss this school. A more in depth investigation through City Records will have to be done to see if there is any additional information. Below is the Mitchell School as it looks today. It was closed in 1981 and eventually sold. The black star indicates the approximate location of the old wooden school.
Long
gone is the hand forged iron picket fence that border
the
school on Elm St.; long gone is the grassy play areas;
long
gone are the pictures in the windows done by
the
students for each of the seasons holidays and long gone
are
the students rushing out the front door heading to
their
homes to continue their studies (home work)
for
the next days activities.
Thanks to Blair Gaulin for the pictures, newspaper article and the story.
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