STARKSBORO — The Jerusalem schoolhouse in South Starksboro dates from 1874, but it hasn’t hosted any students for years. This past Friday and Saturday, the historic building was a happening place when it hosted a flea market that raised funds to restore the building, which is currently used for community events.
Susan Klaiber, a member of the Friends of the Jerusalem Schoolhouse committee, said restoration plans involve removing the adjoining firehouse, which will be located elsewhere. Then the building will be returned to its original state as a one-room schoolhouse. Another committee member, Nancy Orvis, who helped organize the flea market, said her husband, Greg, had attended the one-room school from first through eighth grade.
Previous fundraisers have netted between $1,000 and $1,500 and this latest sale hoped to reach a similar target, Orvis said.
Klaiber said the town had approved the initial restoration plan, and an architect was now drawing up more detailed plans that would then go to a vote next March at annual town meeting.
A SATISFIED CUSTOMER leaves with a plant she purchased at the Jerusalem schoolhouse flea market in South Starksboro on Friday. A group that hopes to restore the 145-year-old building staged the flea market as a fundraiser.
Independent photo/Steve James