Woodbury Graded School
Photograph courtesy of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

  Historic view of Woodbury Graded School, circa 1910
Photograph courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society

The town of Woodbury had been served by several small scattered schoolhouses until 1914 when the centrally located Woodbury Graded School was constructed. Architecturally, it is an excellent example of an early 20th-century rural Vermont graded school. Its construction and history embody the economic and social history of the community, while its prominent location in the center of the town attests to its importance.

Several factors led to the construction of the new school. Statewide, large centrally located schools, like Woodbury's, replaced smaller scattered district schools after a 1892 Vermont State law turned educational control over to individual towns. The construction of these schools was influenced by the State Board of Health's standards, which beginning in 1904, called for adequate sanitation, ventilation, and lighting. The Woodbury Graded School was a thoroughly modern school with large banks of windows, steam heat, and indoor plumbing, quite a contrast to the ten modified houses which had served its school children in the past. The town of Woodbury experienced a major economic and population boom at the turn of the 20th century spurred by the discovery of local deposits of granite. It was during this boom period in the town's history that it needed, and could afford, to build a new modern school, aligned with statewide standards and proudly located in the center of the town.

Four classrooms comprise the first floor of the school, while a large gymnasium/auditorium fills the second floor. This auditorium was often used as a public hall because of its large size and the school's central location. The school has experienced very little alteration, and today continues to provide education for around 90 Woodbury children in grades K-6.

The Woodbury Graded School is still used as an elementary school, and visitors are welcome only when school is not in session. It is located on Town Hwy. 22 in the center of town.


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