Eureka Schoolhouse to stay in state hands

The state of Vermont is going to hold on to the historic Eureka Schoolhouse after all.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140719/NEWS02/707199950

Published July 19, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Eureka Schoolhouse to stay in state hands By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — The state of Vermont is going to hold on to the historic Eureka Schoolhouse after all. According to a letter sent to the town earlier this month, the Division for Historic Preservation, which owns the schoolhouse, has decided not to transfer ownership of the building to the town of Springfield. “We have decided that the property would be better served if it remained under the ownership of DHP” and we are no longer actively pursuing transfer of the property,” wrote Laura V. Trieschmann, the state’s historic preservation officer. The Eureka Schoolhouse, a distinctive hipped-roof one-room schoolhouse, dates to 1790, and is believed to be the oldest surviving schoolhouse in the state. It was moved in the 1960s from Springfield’s Eureka District to its current location on Charlestown Road. Trieschmann said the state would enter into a contract with the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce to staff the building, with the state providing funding for weekend staffing. Trieschmann also pledged that the state would take care of any plumbing and bathroom problems that exist at the separate bathroom facilities near the schoolhouse. “I think the town is happy that there’s going to be some active use of the building, more so than what we’ve had in the past,” said Town Manager Robert Forguites. “The town was primarily interested in keeping it up in some way.” Forguites said that if the schoolhouse had been transferred, it would have been “an extra expense” for the town to maintain it. Jenevieve Johnson, executive director of the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, said she and Trieschmann started talking about what to do about the historic schoolhouse after the June Springfield Select Board meeting, when state officials came to discuss the possible transfer. “I think everyone would say it’s the best solution under the circumstances,” Johnson said Friday. Trieschmann couldn’t be reached for comment Friday. Johnson said the Springfield Chamber had recently held a mixer at the schoolhouse, and it had started raining, and the reception quickly adjourned to the nearby Baltimore Covered Bridge, which is part of the historic site. Forguites said that it was a big help for the state to fund people to staff the building on the weekends, since getting volunteers on the weekend was more challenging. Johnson said she and Trieschmann had a good discussion. “There are a lot of ideas of what to do in the schoolhouse,” Johnson said, but not all of them were “100 percent appropriate” for the historic building. She said using the lawn area, rather than the schoolhouse itself, was also being discussed. “She’s very open to what we’d like to do, and that’s exciting,” Johnson said. The Vermont Legislature had authorized the transfer of three small state historic sites from state ownership to a local organization as a “stewardship option,” Trieschmann’s letter noted. She said some of the suggestions made during the June 16 meeting in Springfield were “outside our current budget and overall mission.”