SCHOOLHOUSE GRANT

A $15,000 grant from the 1772 Foundation in cooperation with the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation was recently awarded to The Little Red School House Association of Winchester, Inc. Association president David N. Battista reported that the grant will enable the association to hire preservation specialists to work on restoring the structural condition of the building in order to preserve the schoolhouse with the goal of opening the schoolhouse to visitors and local school children to experience education as it was in the later part of the 19th century. The Little Red School House, located at the corner of Platt Hill and Taylor Brook Roads in the Town of Winchester, was built in 1815 and was used continuously until 1908. It is the only remaining one room school house in the Town of Winchester. The Little Red School House Association of Winchester was incorporated by Charles Bristol in 1923 to preserve and to honor those individuals who taught at the school. Battista confirmed that the 1772 Foundation grant award required a 50% match by the Association, and thanked the many private individuals, community organizations, and area businesses who came forward with generous donations to help meet the $15,000 in matching funds, including Northwest Community Bank, Torrington Savings Bank, Valley Energy and Litchfield Hills Conservancy. For more information on the Little Red School House or the Association, please contact President David Battista via email at dbattista@snet.net.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO