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Chester Depot in Windsor County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)
 

Chester Academy / District No. 20 Central School

 
 
Chester Academy Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Dennis Gilkenson, May 6, 2018
1. Chester Academy Marker
Inscription.
Chester Academy
A Legislative Act created Chester Academy on October 30, 1814, and it opened March 13, 1815 on this site. A unique hexagonal cupola crowned the Federal-style brick building. Local families financed the school, with the Chester Masons contributing the addition of a third story for lodge meetings. The co-educational Academy ranked among the earliest institutes offering secondary-level education in Vermont, with a Classical curriculum attracting 150 or more students annually. Among the graduates were college presidents, congressmen, Civil War generals, and a Vermont governor. Enrollment declined with the emergence of public high schools in the region, and the Academy closed in 1873. The building was razed in mid-1881.

District No. 20 Central School
The present brick building was erected in 1881 for School District No. 20 behind the site of the Chester Academy. Displaying a distinctive cupola, the Italianate-style building was considered an ornament to the village. In 1885, Chester’s first public high school opened on the second floor. The school’s progressive curriculum attracted students from outside Chester. Its first female principal was installed in 1891. The Central High School remained here until the opening of a larger high school on Depot Hill in 1912. This building served as an

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elementary school into the 1950s, and then as the junior high school until 1970. The Chester Historical Society and Museum now occupy the former school.
 
Erected 2017 by Vermont Division for Historical Preservation.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ArchitectureEducation. A significant historical year for this entry is 1881.
 
Location. 43° 15.882′ N, 72° 35.934′ W. Marker is in Chester, Vermont, in Windsor County. It is in Chester Depot. Marker is on Main Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chester VT 05143, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Merritt Austin Edson (within shouting distance of this marker); Chester Civil War Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Chester Vietnam Conflict Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Chester World War I and II and Korean Conflict Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Chester Depot (approx. half a mile away); North Chester (approx. ¾ mile away); Hugh Henry Family Homestead (approx. 1.2 miles away); Stellafane Observatory (approx. 4.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chester.
 
Side Two of Chester Academy Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Dennis Gilkenson, May 6, 2018
2. Side Two of Chester Academy Marker
Wide View of Chester Academy Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Dennis Gilkenson, May 6, 2018
3. Wide View of Chester Academy Marker
Former Central School Building image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Dennis Gilkenson, May 6, 2018
4. Former Central School Building
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 8, 2018, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. This page has been viewed 325 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 8, 2018, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024