GRANVILLE — A group of community members recently archived the annual registries of Granville’s 10 former one-room schoolhouses so they will be available for future research projects.
Rachel Onuf, Vermont Archives Outreach and Community Archives consultant, met with members of the Granville community on Aug. 30 to examine and organize a wealth of records from the Addison County town’s original one-room schoolhouses going back to the middle of the 19th century. The Corner School Resource Center of Granville Inc. sponsored the meeting at the town clerk’s office.
The schoolhouse records are now available to researchers seeking information on teachers, students and other academic concerns of this fascinating era in central Vermont history. Interested parties should make an appointment in advance with the Granville town clerk.
The earliest school registries date to 1859 with consecutive annual registries continuing to 2010 when Granville’s last one-room school, the Lower Village School, closed. They contain names, school budgets, attendance records and other interesting historical notations.
Today, three of the 10 former schoolhouses still stand at their original locations. One additional school (North Hollow School, 1859-1913) was reportedly sold to a private party after closing and moved to a residential site in a neighboring town.
Granville’s three remaining schoolhouses are: the Lower Village School (active from 1859 to 2010) repurposed into the Granville Town Office, the South Hollow School (1859-1936) converted into a private residence, and the Corner School (1871-1951) in Granville’s Upper Village.  The Corner School, one of a handful of unaltered schoolhouses in the entire state, is currently the focus of a multi-stage major restoration and repurposing project for community benefit by the Corner School Resource Center, a nonprofit foundation.
Ron Millard, president of the Corner School Resource Center of Granville, said his organization would host a series of community engagement meetings in Granville over the next several months as a way to instill forward momentum in a one-room school renovation project, and as initial efforts that could lead one day to the establishment of the Granville Historical Society.
The Corner School restoration project continues to seek funding, inviting prospective donors to visit the newly painted building at 75 Post Office Hill Road, Granville, and send tax-deductible donations payable to the Corner School Resource Center, c/o Diane Eramo, Treasurer, 3522 North Hollow Road, Granville, VT 05747.