History of West Elementary School, part 1
Andover is about to open the 4th version of the West Elementary School. Today, writer Barbara Bunn shares the first of two posts on the history of the school.
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History of West Elementary School, part 1
~Barbara Bunn
The author of this article was a student at West Elementary School many years ago and then returned to the school as a teacher. I even taught fifth grade in a classroom that had been my 2nd grade classroom with Miss Dunn. If you went to West Elementary can you name all your teachers? I can!!! (Answers will be in part two!)
If you have driven past the current West Elementary School on Beacon Street in Andover, you will notice that the building of the new West Elementary School has started. This new school will be the 4th West School.
1828-1952 WEST CENTER DISTRICT SCHOOL
The 1st West School was created when the Chandler School District was divided into two district schools in 1828, the Frye (now known as the Shawsheen School) and the West Center School. The Chandler School, established in 1795 was located on the corner of Lowell St and Chandler Road known today as Chandler Circle.
As more people came to this area to work in the mills or to live near the West Parish Church a need was created for two separate schools. The school committee notes from the Chandler District indicated that the school building was be moved in September 1830.
The school was built on land owned by Captain John Stanyon, who lived at 173 Lowell Street. Captain Stanyon had a homestead of 79 acres. He sold a 34’ x 34’ parcel of his land at the corner of Beacon and Lowell Street for a penny to the West Center District “for the purpose of setting a school upon.”
Once the schoolhouse was moved, it was repaired and painted red with white trim. For the next few years repairs and other upkeeps were done to the school but in March of 1848 the district school committee voted not to repair the old schoolhouse, which had probably been built in 1795, and voted to acquire more land and build a new schoolhouse.
So in 1848 West Center School #2 was built. Peter Smith, a Deacon at the West Parish Church and one of the owners of the Smith and Dove Company, contributed $100 in 1848 with the proviso that the building could be used by the West Parish Church for meetings. Apples and apple trees on the property were sold to fund the construction for a new one-room school which was 26x36 square feet.
The School Committee Report from 1849 reported that there were 56 children attending in the summer session and 75 children in the winter session. Miss Sarah Ann Hamlin was the teacher in this one room school. The report also spoke about the new school,
This district has also been favored in having a new and commodious school house erected during the past year with entire unanimity, and constructed and finished with judgment and taste. The effect of such pleasant and comfortable accommodations upon the school has been salutary, and probably no parent regrets that they have been provided.
In the 1890 School Committee Report it was recommended,
. . . that the sum of $800 be appropriated for the purpose of enlarging the present school house, so that it may be sufficient for the present needs.
There were 53 students enrolled in 1890. The teachers were Hannah R. Bailey and Mary Hardy.
The School Committee Report for 1891 reported about the addition to the West Center School.
The new part proves a delightfully sunny school room and the enlargement gives ample accommodations for the scholars; while painting of the whole school and the erection of a gable in the center over the western entrance have made a marked improvement in the outward appearance of the edifice.
The West Center School had 2 rooms now and in 1892 Hannah Bailey was the teacher for grades 7-9 and had a total of 18 students. Mary Hardy was the teacher for grades 1-6 and had a total of 27 students.
The size of the West Center School never changed. Imagine that from 1891 to 1952 it remained just 2 rooms!
In 1946 this West Center School had 4 grades in two rooms with 50 students attending the school. Mrs. Georgina Hilton was the principal. Memories of a teacher and later a principal, Miss Isabelle Dobbie, tell a bit of the history of this school in 1994. Here are her words as reported in Andover- A Century of Change 1896-1996 by Eleanor Motley Richardson.
I came to teach at West School in September 1946. One room was 75 years old and the other was 103 years old. I taught a class of 36 first and second grade combine. Georgina Hilton taught third and fourth graders. You had to plan very carefully to teach two grades at once.
I would have the reading group from one grade at the front of the room. The other group had written work. They knew not to make a sound . . . We concentrated on reading, language development, writing, math and penmanship. The physical education, art, and music teachers came one day every other week. It was like a big family-the children were eager to learn and the parents were very supportive.
1952-1956 West Elementary
A new school was planned for the West Andover district but what would happen to the old West Center School that had work to educate many, many students since 1828? According to the August 28, 1952 edition of the Andover Townsman, the building was sold at auction for $200 to Daniel Ferris who moved the building to land he owned on West Beacon Street. The flagpole on the building was donated by Mr. Ferris to Rev. John Gaskill who planned to use it on the West Parish Church grounds.
The Town of Andover grew very fast! From 1950 to 1962, there was continuous building happening in the town. Farms became house lots or industries, and highways provided opportunities for easy travel into Boston and other surrounding areas. To highlight the growth in population in the Andover one just needs to look at the changes to the schools in the 50s. West Elementary and Central School, now known as Doherty Middle school, were both built in 1952, Andover High School now known as West Middle was built in 1957, and South School was built in 1958.
The 3rd West Center School, which became known as West Elementary, partially opened in the spring of 1952. The school had 6 classrooms, a kindergarten, cafeteria-gym, and was built on land that belonged to the old Carter Farm from the corner of High Plain Road. Unfortunately only 2 classrooms were completed at the spring of 1952 but the contractor and town officials allowed two classes to move into the school in May of 1952. The two classes were taught by Miss Isabelle Dobbie and Mrs. Rita Cronin.
What was the cost of the new school in 1952?? According to an article in the Andover Townsman dated September 4, 1952, the bid was awarded to the Walter L. Ritchie Company of Malden MA for $363,506.
In September 1952 the school was completed and all six rooms were occupied. Miss Dobbie was named Principal, a position she held for many years. Later Miss Dobbie became principal of Shawsheen School in 1970 and then Sanborn School in 1980. Students from the Indian Ridge School which had been located on Cuba Street came to West Elementary because their school was in disrepair. In Miss Dobbie’s first Annual report of West Elementary in 1953 to Mr. Kenneth L. Sherman, the Superintendent of Schools she wrote:
The West Elementary School has a large enrollment in first and second grades. This has made it necessary to have 2 first grade classes. One of the first grade classes uses the kindergarten room during the morning and the gymnasium during the afternoon session. Of course the perfect solution to the problem would be an additional room, but since this is not possible at the present time we feel that our solution for now is the most satisfactory and practical one.
What Miss Dobbie did not mention in her report was that the school department had wanted to build a 12-room school but it was cut to six rooms. Even though projection figures had declared more classrooms would be needed for both the West Center and Central School, which had also had their classrooms cut from 24 rooms to 12.
In part two of this story, coming up on May 1, we’ll continue the story of 1956 to today.
Thanks for reading! If you have memories of your elementary school times, or Andover’s West Elementary School, please leave a comment. We love to hear from History Buzz readers!
~Barbara
Resources:
Andover A Century of Change by Eleanor Motley Richardson for the Andover Historical Society
Andover 1956-1971 Published by Andover’s 325 Anniversary Committee
Andover- What It Was - What it Is 300th Anniversary
West Parish Center Walking Tour written by Barbara Thibault 1989, Updated 2015
The Minutes of the Chandler School District Meeting from 1803-1864 owned by William Trow property of Andover Center for History and Culture
Andover Townsman March 5, 1937; April 5, 1951; August 1952; September 4, 1952
Andover Historic Preservation Website
I am a west elementary alum! In answer to Ms Bunn's question: Ms. Henry who soon became Mrs. Armstrong in first grade Ms Calhoun was second grade, Ms Stefanelli and Ms Briggs for 3rd and 4th grade. My math teacher in fourth grade was Ms. Look. She used to draw eyes for the eyes in her name. 5th grade was Ms. Plamondon and the incomparable Ms. Green as my math teacher.
And, of course, the late Ms. Walker.
Looking back, I loved that place. The difficulty with making friends aside. It was huge at least to my eyes. Ms. Armstrong had a corvette. Some days she'd drive her father's 1950s T-bird. The beach boys song sailed right over my head.
Thanks Barbara for an interesting history of West El.