Historic Irondale Schoolhouse to open for the season May 29

Historic Irondale Schoolhouse to open for the season May 29
Children have been entertaining themselves at the slate chalkboards at the 1858 Irondale Schoolhouse in Millerton since it opened in 2013; it was closed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The schoolhouse is opening for the 2021 season on Saturday, May 29, much to the pleasure of Irondale Schoolhouse Association President Ralph Fedele. Photo courtesy Irondale Schoolhouse Association

MILLERTON — After a year’s hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the historic 1858 one-room Irondale Schoolhouse that stands at the Main Street entrance to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail will be re-opening for a new season on Saturday, May 29, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

President of the Irondale Schoolhouse Association Board (ISAB) Ralph Fedele said he is thrilled to have the historic treasure trove open to the public once again.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “We’ve been preparing, sprucing up the interior of the building, planting some flowers and shrubs around the building, and as I’ve been working in the schoolhouse with the doors open, low and behold, people have been coming in to look around and we’ll talk, and it’s so nice to see people walking around in the village and enjoying the sights.”

The schoolhouse, which was moved in two parts from its original location in the Irondale section of the town roughly 2 miles away to Main Street in 2013, now stands as an example of what education was like in the 1800s. Fedele said he figures about 2,500 local children were taught at the Irondale Schoolhouse during its nearly 75 years of operation, all of whom crossed the same stone steps that still grace its doorstep at its new location on the Rail Trail.

“They all had to step on that stepping stone to get their education and step into that building,” he said.

The schoolhouse records show the school opened in 1858 and closed in 1930, when Millerton Elementary School opened near the traffic light on Route 22 and Main Street, which is when all of the local schools were consolidated into one building. Up until then, 18th century schooling was done in one-room schoolhouses; there were 14 of them in the village of Millerton. Every schoolhouse had to be within walking distance of local schoolchildren, according to Fedele.

“There was one teacher who taught children anywhere between the ages of 5 to 20 within one school with a pot belly stove in the center of the building to warm the kids,” he said. “This is what education was like in the 1800s.”

Visitors to the Irondale Schoolhouse can learn that history and more, thanks to a new 8-minute audio-visual slideshow that Fedele is very proud of, which he said the ISAB worked diligently on for eight years. David Maffucci of Visionary Computers in Lakeville, Conn., worked pro-bono, donating his time and energy to create the disc and put together slides in sequential order, while ISAB member Darryl Gangloff helped mesh the narrative with the visual and ISAB Treasurer Dick Hermans did the narration. Robin Hood Radio’s Marshall Miles also helped develop the video. 

Fedele said he wanted to thank everyone who contributed to the project, all of whom he said did a “splendid job,” as well as the entire schoolhouse board, for all of its support.

“This 8-minute audio video slideshow I am so delighted with,” said Fedele. “It’s an historic record of how we saved an old building and moved it into Millerton. It’s going to be special. This is going to  run on a continual basis on a flat-screen TV. We will have chairs set up so people can watch the whole presentation. It’s going to be special. We’re looking forward to it.”

Gangloff agreed. He often brings his wife and daughter along with him when he visits the historic site.

“My daughter’s eyes light up with wonder every time she visits the Irondale Schoolhouse,” he said. “She draws on the chalkboard, sits in the desks and rings the bell with a huge smile. It really is like taking a trip back in time.”

Fedele said having children ring the bell is one of the activities he’s most looking forward to, “because they love to do that.”

The season will run through Columbus Day in mid-October. The Irondale Schoolhouse also traditionally holds a special Halloween event with arts and crafts at the end of October for local children.

Fedele added the schoolhouse is available as a gallery exhibition space, and for community group meetings and special events, including weddings and other activities, free of charge. For more information, write to the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse, P.O. Box 876, Millerton, NY 12546.

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