United States historic place
The Tucker Mountain Schoolhouse is a historic one-room schoolhouse on Tucker Mountain Road in Andover, New Hampshire. The small wood-frame building was built in 1837, and served as a schoolhouse until 1893, when it was closed due to declining enrollments. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[1] It is now owned by the Andover Historical Society, and is occasionally open to the public in the summer.[2]
Description and history
The Tucker Mountain Schoolhouse stands in a remote rural area of eastern Andover, north of the village of East Andover. It is on the east side of Tucker Mountain Road, near its northern end. It is a wooded post-and-beam structure, covered by a gabled roof and set on an unmortared fieldstone foundation. The classroom is 16 feet (4.9 m) wide and 18 feet (5.5 m) long. A small ell was added to the building to provide a weather break, a place to store firewood, and a privy area. The interior of the school has retained its furnishings: the desks are bolted to the floor, which slopes slightly to afford students in the rear a better view of the front of room. The interior walls are finished in pine boards painted black, which served as chalkboards. The building exterior is finished in wooden clapboards.[2]
The school was built in 1837 by Benjamin Tucker for $100, on land donated by his brother William. It served the families of the local mountain area until 1893, when it was closed due to declining enrollments.[2][3] It was acquired by a nearby resident in the 1960s and donated to the local historical society.[3] It is open to the public some Sundays in the summer, or by appointment.[2]
