The schoolhouse was a simple clapboard building when its first students arrived in 1858. It had a foundation of native fieldstone and two front doors, one for boys, and one for girls. When New England winters chilled fingers and toes, the children hurried to school knowing the big stove in the middle of the room would keep them warm. One teacher, Caroline Almeda Hartwell, single-handedly taught 30 students in grades one, two, and three.

After 65 years, when Hardy School opened across the road in 1922, the much-loved schoolhouse remained empty, but not for long…

Learn more in the Digital Edition of the Summer 2019 Issue of WellesleyWeston Magazine.