Mount Washington, Mass., has the third smallest population in the Commonwealth. Located on a mountain plateau originally called Taghkanic, the area was once claimed by the colony of New York. It was settled in the late 1600s by tenants and squatters, many of Dutch descent. The town was eventually determined to be in Massachusetts and renamed Mount Washington in honor of George Washington.
By the early 1800s, the growing town had three schoolhouses. Two of them survive. The North School was the subject of this column in 2018. The South School is featured here, and shown in the 1911 photograph above. The building is located along the south end of East Road which is often referred to as “the road to Salisbury, Conn.”
The South School location was moved several times during the 1800s. According to “History of Mount Washington, Massachusetts” by Evelyn Shearn, the building was repaired, painted red, and moved to its present location in 1895. It also housed a small library. A 1929 newspaper article explained that the school yard was quite small but featured an outcrop of rock which the children used as a playground. A photograph shown below taken circa 1915 shows a student sitting at the stone outcrop.
By the 1930s, the school had closed because of declining enrollment. The building is now the privately owned residence shown below which has been has been renovated and expanded.
