West Hill School Restored

Cabot, Vermont

Photo Credit: Bonnie S. Dannenberg

District # 4 - West Hill and Kimball Schools -

"Hopkins School, known in 1886 as Kimball School, was the first school built in West Hill District 4. Later, the present building was built and Kimball School (on the hill near Houston's) was abandoned. The new school was called West Hill School. This school was discontinued due to lack of pupils during the 1918-19 school year and students were sent to Lower Cabot or to the Village. The building was rented out for storage until 1976 when Charles and Barbara Carpenter persuaded the town to give it to them for the Historical Society. The Carpenters began restoration with community help and grants, and more recently the Cabot School's Heritage Class under the guidance of David Book have improved it and used it as a learning experience." Cabot Hist. Soc., Old Home Week, Aug. 16, 2001

Restoration -

In the 1800's, Cabot was home to about two hundred people. The tiny rural town contained many farms, a church, a mill, and one small one room schoolhouse. This proposed project would not only provide the students with place-based learning, it would also be a great opportunity to partner with a community organization. Three years later, exterior restoration has been completed, and students are working on the interior. Many artifacts have been collected: 50 old textbooks, slates, kettles, ink wells, and a school bell. The final phase of the project will be to create a living history laboratory. Each shared success forges a stronger bond between students and their community. Site leader, David Book, commented that, "As a result of efforts by the Cabot Historical Society and the Heritage class at Cabot School, the school house stands as a lasting monument to a long lost way of life." Source: http://www.uvm.edu/~dewey/articles/Democonc.html

School opened here as usual in September of 1918, with Mrs. Dora GARNEY teaching. Later that year it was discontinued due to lack of pupils. When the school closed in 1919, some students went to the Lower Cabot School and others to the Village School.

" We got the town to give it to us. But the town had broken out one side and was storing some road equipment in there, which broke through the floor. And then they rented it to Chris Barbieri. They lived right there at the pond and they rented that place for storage. . .for $1 a year. I went to Chris Barbieri at the Chamber of Commerce and persuaded him to give up his lease. Then we raised money and we got a grant from the state and it was a community effort to restore that building. I think we did a nice job, it looks great. But it was a wreck." - Barbara CARPENTER

West Hill Neighborhood -

" A beautiful table-land in the west part of the town, surrounded by valleys on the east, south and west, has a charming view of the country beneath. Enoch HOYT, known as Deacon Enoch in later years, being a member of the Baptist church, bought of Edmund GILMAN 320 acres, the farm now owned by Orson Kimball. He commenced clearing in the field back of the school-house in 1797, and built his cabin a little north of where Eastman HOPKINS lives. He came from Epsom, N.H., to the Junction (Cabot Plain), with his effects, and from there got them over on his back, probably. Four of his brothers, Ezra, Asaph, Benjamin and Samuel came very soon and settled near him. They were all steady men, and made this one of the best farming sections in town, and some of them after their pioneer life here, went to Wisconsin and started anew." (Hemenway)

Quotes - Source "Cabot, Vermont A Collection of Memories From The Century Past" A Publication of the Cabot Oral History Committee - 1999 Excerpts from pp - 130, & 131.

Book available. $20.00. Order from the President Bonnie Dannenberg of the Cabot Historical Society.

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