Thorne Memorial School
Encyclopedia
The Thorne Memorial School building is located at Franklin and Maple streets in Millbrook
, New York, United States. It is a brick structure built at the end of the 19th century, considered the most distinctive public building in the village.
After being challenged by a newspaper reporter's column about the new village's lack of a school, a wealthy local resident had the school built at his expense and donated it to the community. In order for it to be accepted, it was necessary for the village to formally incorporate
. It served as its high school
until 1962. Today it is used for special purposes and afterschool activities. In 1996 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
along with an adjacent blacksmith
's shop.
highway) and Maple avenues on the eastern edge of downtown Millbrook. To the north is Lyall Federated Church and some houses; to the east is Maple Avenue East. An access drive in the center divides the developed portion on the west from a grassy field on the east. The school has its original retaining wall
on the south side and a parking lot on the north.
The main building is a three-story structure on a limestone
foundation
sided in buff brick. It is configured as two connecting perpdendicular blocks, with semicircular wings on the south corners. Asphalt has covered the original metal roof, except for the copper
trim on the cornice
and dormer windows.
The front (south) facade
is trimmed with limestone quoin
s, beltcourses
and architrave
s. It is pediment
ed in the center over a Palladian window. Windows are round-arched on the ground floor.
Inside the front block is given over to classrooms surrounding an open stairwell on the first two stories. The third story, originally living quarters for the janitor
and his family has smaller rooms in the dormers with a central hall lit by skylights. Walls are plaster over clay tile on the interior wythe
; floors are original wood strip except for concrete in the basement, which is used for mechanical purposes.
It connects to the similar basement of the north wing. That wing's ground floor has a kitchen on the east and cafeteria
on the west. To their north is a two-story auditorium with exposed iron truss
es supporting the ceiling and roof. At the north end are dressing rooms and mechanical rooms.
There are two outbuildings associated with the property. A cobblestone
shop near the school was originally used to teach students blacksmith
ing; it is today a storage facility. It dates to sometime before 1913 and is considered a contributing resource
. A bandshell on the north end of the field to the east is of more modern construction and thus non-contributing.
of G.H. Brown.
The settlement grew quickly, with other wealthy buyers establishing their own country estates outside of town. Those who worked for or sold things to them moved into the growing hamlet. In 1892, a local newspaper, the Round Table, reported the observations of a visitor from Poughkeepsie
on what the village, which he praised for its "evident harmony and cooperation between the millionaire population and the unmoneyed people", lacked:
The visitor called for one of the wealthy local residents to rise to the occasion and endow a public school in Millbrook, "a monument that outlasts time".
The next year a meeting was called to consider that possibility. A site was initially selected near the old wooden schoolhouse on Elm Street, built shortly after the hamlet was subdivided. In the autumn of that year Samuel Thorne, a wealthy resident with deep roots in the area, announced that plans were nearly complete for the present school, on a different parcel of land. He would name it Thorne Memorial for his late parents Jonathan and Lydia.
Thorne's school was to be state-of-the-art
for its era. The new school was fireproof
, long before this became common or mandatory. The Round Table said the new school had the potential to make Millbrook "first in educational advantages among villages of its size in Dutchess County".
No hard documentation exists for the architect or builders, but recent investigation has found that they were likely William J. Beardsley and the Cornwall firm of Mead and Taft respectively. Christopher Gray
has found that Beardsley, who established himself later with the 1903 Dutchess County Court House
in Poughkeepsie and went on to design many public buildings in the state, lived on the same Millbrook street as Frank Welling, supervisor of the construction for the school board. His 1933 obituary also referred to "a school in Millbrook" as being one of his works. Mead and Taft had recently built nearby Halcyon Hall and were known for their ability to finish such large projects.
It was completed and opened in September 1895. The Thorne family wanted to donate it to the community, but at the time there was no formal entity that could accept the gift. So, at the end of the year, Millbrook voted overwhelmingly to incorporate
as a village.
The original school property included a stable
and blacksmith
shop as outbuildings. The former is no longer extant; the latter is but is used for storage. The school continued to be used as the village's high school until the creation of the present Millbrook Central School District in 1962. There have been very few alterations to it save for the removal of the original flagpole and cupola
. It continues to be used for special-interest classes and community events.
Millbrook, New York
Millbrook is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is often said to be a "low-key version of the Hamptons" and one of the wealthiest towns in New York State. Millbrook's estimated town population was 1,551 in 2008. Millbrook is located in the Hudson Valley, an hour and thirty...
, New York, United States. It is a brick structure built at the end of the 19th century, considered the most distinctive public building in the village.
After being challenged by a newspaper reporter's column about the new village's lack of a school, a wealthy local resident had the school built at his expense and donated it to the community. In order for it to be accepted, it was necessary for the village to formally incorporate
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
. It served as its high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
until 1962. Today it is used for special purposes and afterschool activities. In 1996 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
along with an adjacent blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
's shop.
Buildings and grounds
The school's 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) lot is a rectangular parcel located in a residential area at the corner of Franklin (the former route of the US 44U.S. Route 44 in New York
U.S. Route 44 in the state of New York is a major east–west thoroughfare in the Hudson Valley region of the state. Its entire length is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation, with the exception of the Mid-Hudson Bridge, which is maintained by the New York State Bridge...
highway) and Maple avenues on the eastern edge of downtown Millbrook. To the north is Lyall Federated Church and some houses; to the east is Maple Avenue East. An access drive in the center divides the developed portion on the west from a grassy field on the east. The school has its original retaining wall
Retaining wall
Retaining walls are built in order to hold back earth which would otherwise move downwards. Their purpose is to stabilize slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, e.g...
on the south side and a parking lot on the north.
The main building is a three-story structure on a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
sided in buff brick. It is configured as two connecting perpdendicular blocks, with semicircular wings on the south corners. Asphalt has covered the original metal roof, except for the copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
trim on the cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and dormer windows.
The front (south) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is trimmed with limestone quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s, beltcourses
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
and architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
s. It is pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
ed in the center over a Palladian window. Windows are round-arched on the ground floor.
Inside the front block is given over to classrooms surrounding an open stairwell on the first two stories. The third story, originally living quarters for the janitor
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
and his family has smaller rooms in the dormers with a central hall lit by skylights. Walls are plaster over clay tile on the interior wythe
Wythe
A wythe is a continuous vertical section of masonry one unit in thickness. A wythe may be independent of, or interlocked with, the adjoining wythe...
; floors are original wood strip except for concrete in the basement, which is used for mechanical purposes.
It connects to the similar basement of the north wing. That wing's ground floor has a kitchen on the east and cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
on the west. To their north is a two-story auditorium with exposed iron truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es supporting the ceiling and roof. At the north end are dressing rooms and mechanical rooms.
There are two outbuildings associated with the property. A cobblestone
Cobblestone
Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size...
shop near the school was originally used to teach students blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
ing; it is today a storage facility. It dates to sometime before 1913 and is considered a contributing resource
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
. A bandshell on the north end of the field to the east is of more modern construction and thus non-contributing.
History
Millbrook had come into existence in 1869, when entrepreneur M. Franklin Merritt bought an old farm through which the Dutchess and Columbia Railroad was slated to be built. He laid out streets and subdivided the land. The village-to-be was named Millbrook, in honor of the nearby estateEstate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
of G.H. Brown.
The settlement grew quickly, with other wealthy buyers establishing their own country estates outside of town. Those who worked for or sold things to them moved into the growing hamlet. In 1892, a local newspaper, the Round Table, reported the observations of a visitor from Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
on what the village, which he praised for its "evident harmony and cooperation between the millionaire population and the unmoneyed people", lacked:
The visitor called for one of the wealthy local residents to rise to the occasion and endow a public school in Millbrook, "a monument that outlasts time".
The next year a meeting was called to consider that possibility. A site was initially selected near the old wooden schoolhouse on Elm Street, built shortly after the hamlet was subdivided. In the autumn of that year Samuel Thorne, a wealthy resident with deep roots in the area, announced that plans were nearly complete for the present school, on a different parcel of land. He would name it Thorne Memorial for his late parents Jonathan and Lydia.
Thorne's school was to be state-of-the-art
State of the art
The state of the art is the highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time. It also refers to the level of development reached at any particular time as a result of the latest methodologies employed.- Origin :The earliest use of the term...
for its era. The new school was fireproof
Fireproofing
Fireproofing, a passive fire protection measure, refers to the act of making materials or structures more resistant to fire, or to those materials themselves, or the act of applying such materials. Applying a certification listed fireproofing system to certain structures allows these to have a...
, long before this became common or mandatory. The Round Table said the new school had the potential to make Millbrook "first in educational advantages among villages of its size in Dutchess County".
No hard documentation exists for the architect or builders, but recent investigation has found that they were likely William J. Beardsley and the Cornwall firm of Mead and Taft respectively. Christopher Gray
Christopher Gray
Christopher Gray is an American journalist and architectural historian noted for his weekly New York Times column "Streetscapes", about the history of New York architecture, real estate and public improvements...
has found that Beardsley, who established himself later with the 1903 Dutchess County Court House
Dutchess County Court House
The Dutchess County Courthouse is located at 10 Market Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It is the third county courthouse to stand on that site....
in Poughkeepsie and went on to design many public buildings in the state, lived on the same Millbrook street as Frank Welling, supervisor of the construction for the school board. His 1933 obituary also referred to "a school in Millbrook" as being one of his works. Mead and Taft had recently built nearby Halcyon Hall and were known for their ability to finish such large projects.
It was completed and opened in September 1895. The Thorne family wanted to donate it to the community, but at the time there was no formal entity that could accept the gift. So, at the end of the year, Millbrook voted overwhelmingly to incorporate
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
as a village.
The original school property included a stable
Stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
and blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shop as outbuildings. The former is no longer extant; the latter is but is used for storage. The school continued to be used as the village's high school until the creation of the present Millbrook Central School District in 1962. There have been very few alterations to it save for the removal of the original flagpole and cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
. It continues to be used for special-interest classes and community events.