The Restoration
Restoring the West Street School
The West Street School has survived since 1750 with almost nothing changed — no plumbing, no modern systems, the pot-bellied stove still in its room. But the paint is peeling, the shutters are weathered, and the woodshed doors have rotted. The Southington Historical Society is leading the effort to restore all three historic structures.
What survives
A schoolhouse the modern world never reached
The West Street School taught its first students in 1750 and held classes until 1945 — and in all those years it never had running water, plumbing, or modern conveniences. A pot-bellied wood stove was the only heat the building ever had.
Inside, the green chalkboards still hang in their wood frames. The matched wood floors and beaded wainscot are the same surfaces generations of West Street farm children knew. That exceptional integrity is what earned the school its place on the National Register of Historic Places — and it is exactly what the restoration must protect.
The site holds three historic structures — the schoolhouse, the woodshed, and the privy — and all three are part of the effort.
- Built
- 1750 — taught West Street's farm families until 1945
- Heat
- One pot-bellied wood stove — the only heat it ever had
- Structures
- Three historic buildings: schoolhouse, woodshed, and privy
- Recognition
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1988
The condition today
But the building is weathering
Paint is peeling to bare wood on the clapboards. Window sashes and shutters are damaged. The woodshed's doors have rotted through. Time and New England weather are doing what they always do to an unrestored building — slowly, and then all at once.
Peeling, alligatored paint on the clapboard siding A broken sash and weathered shutters on the facade The woodshed's board doors, split and sagging The privy outbuilding, paint peeling among the pines Heavy flaking on the rear chimney end, late winter The rear elevation — shuttered windows and the original brick chimney
The effort
Who is leading the work
The Southington Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is leading the effort to restore, repair, and maintain the West Street School. The detailed scope of work will be announced as planning continues.
Restoration updates are coming — check back here. In the meantime, donations through the Southington Historical Society support the work of keeping the schoolhouse standing.
A warning from Bristol Street
St. Thomas Church — built 1865, demolished 2025.
Don't let this happen to West St. School.
St. Thomas Church stood at 99 Bristol Street for over 150 years. Residents petitioned to save it. In 2025, it came down anyway — and Southington lost a landmark it can never get back.
Crowds outside St. Thomas Church on Bristol Street, early 1900s St. Thomas Church as it stood — steeple and rose window intact 2025 — only the chimney left standing
The 1976 precedent
West Street has done this before
During the 1976 Bicentennial, the farmers of West Street put up their ladders and gave the schoolhouse a new coat of paint — neighbors caring for the building that had taught their families.
Now it's our turn.
Help keep the schoolhouse standing
Every gift through the Southington Historical Society supports the restoration. Every photograph, object, and memory shared helps tell the school's story.
Want the full story, from 1750 to today? Read the school's history