Barre in Washington County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)
Spaulding Graded School
1891
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Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2025
1. Spaulding Graded School Marker
Erected by The Barre Partnership.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1891.
Location. 44° 11.776′ N, 72° 29.918′ W. Marker is in Barre, Vermont, in Washington County. It is on Washington Street (U.S. 302) near Academy Street, on the left when traveling south. The building is now the Vermont Historical Society. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 60 Washington Street, Barre VT 05641, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Vermont’s Green Mountains. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Spaulding Grade School Original Bell (here, next to this marker); Robert Burns Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Joseph A. Ripley Residence (within shouting distance of this marker); Currier Park (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Church of the Good Shepherd (about 400 feet away); Hedding Methodist Church (about 400 feet away); 100 Years of Lionism (about 400 feet away); Congregational Church (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Barre.
More about this marker. The simple granite
this page online
Regarding Spaulding Graded School. National Register Nomination excerpt:
The Spaulding Graded School for "high school and intermediate scholars" was built in 1891/1892 on the site of the old Barre Academy and designed by St. Johnsbury architect Lambert Packard. Dr. Jacob S. Spaulding had been principal and business manager of the academy for 28 years since its inception in 1852.
The school was the showpiece of the city's public school system dating from an era when a community's public schools were a matter of intense civic pride; the school's layout, furnishings and equipment represented the most modern examples of their type at the time the building was constructed. Its design is particularly well suited for a prominent hillside site, spreading across a large, landscaped lot in a broad horizontal mass that forms a visual terminus for the southeastern vista from City Park.
Spaulding School incorporates elements of both the Richardsonian Romanesque and Jacobean styles. Balancedthough not symmetricalin bay arrangement and massing, the building has a three-part facade consisting of a corbeled, crow-step pavilion, a projecting central entrance bay flanked by round towers, and grouped windows set in a vertical wall surface near the Washington Street
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2025
2. Spaulding Graded School Marker
Detailing in this building is concentrated at the facade, in patterned brickwork, a granite-edged Syrian arch at the entry, and in the towers. The remaining elevations, which are not visible from City Park, have a much simpler surface treatment, planar wall areas, and few projections. A massive hip roof, abruptly rising to a higher peak near the side elevations, spreads across the main block in unbroken slopes.
In 1914 a hip-roofed addition, similar in dimensions and basic detailing, was connected to the southwest corner of the original structure. Positioned at an offset angle, the later addition does not detract from the visual impact of the main building.
Also see . . . Barre Downtown National Register Historic District Nomination Form. (Submitted on August 8, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2025
3. Spaulding Graded School
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., July 29, 2025
4. Notable Spaulding Graded School Memorial Paver
Credits. This page was last revised on August 8, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 130 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 8, 2025, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
