North Primary 1903

North Primary 1903

The North Primary School was located on Upper Bridge (later / currently Anderson Street) and burned in January of 1914. The School was originally the vestry for the Unitarian Church, known generally as First Parish. The wood frame building burned in 1914, resulting in the purchase of the McLellan estate and its use as a primary school until the Governor Anderson School was built in 1935. After the fire, the three classes from the school began attending classes in the City Building.The location is known to many of us as where the pants factory was. NORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL BUILDING FIRE. (from The Republican Journal, January 1914) The alarm from box 25 about 7 AM, January 2 was for a fire in the North primary school building on Bridge Street. The building was valued at $2000, insured for $1000, and the contents at $1000, including the personal property of the teachers and with the exception of a few desks and seats the buildings and contents were a total loss. It was a one story wooden building, was remodeled a few years ago and was considered the best school building in the city. It contained three grades: grade III and Principal Miss Grace E Walton; Grade II, Ms. Julia M Leary; grade 1 Miss Francis A. Sargent. The pupils numbered about 100. The firemen were handicapped by zero weather, the water freezing wherever it fell, and by the low pressure which necessitated the use of the gasoline engine and did well in preventing the fire spreading to the nearby buildings. The "all-out" signal was sounded about 8 o'clock, but it was later in the forenoon before the fire was finally extinguished. The fire evidently originated from the furnace and was first discovered by seeing smoke pouring from a cellar window. The furnace was near the floor in one place and also near the stairs, but exposed places with covered with asbestos. Mr. Herbert L. Bucklin, the janitor, was at the building at 4:30 AM and attended to the furnace and left to visit the other school buildings. The drafts were not left wide open and he would have opened them further on returning to the building. A special meeting of the school committee was held at 10 AM and it was voted to ask the permission of the city government to use the Alderman's, Council and Municipal court rooms in the city building. Renworth Rogers was made chairman of the committee to clean and transfer what furniture could be saved from the ruins and by what is necessary, and Superintendent Woodbury, Dr. Millet and E. B. Lunt were appointed a committee to buy needed supplies. At the meeting of the city government Monday evening permission was given to use the rooms and no time was lost in getting them ready for school purposes. Renworth R. Rogers was in charge of the work and M. W. Welch was varnishing, etc. The common Council room was assigned to grade 1 Miss Francis A Sargent, teacher, and about half the pupils reported for the afternoon session Tuesday. Ms. Sargent was busy after the session a sorting records, books, etc. The Alderman's room was assigned to grade 2, Miss Julia Leary, teacher, and she was busy Tuesday afternoon preparing for the session to be held Wednesday morning. The principal courtroom was assigned to grade 3, Miss Grace E. Walton, teacher, and the first session was held there yesterday morning. The rooms are all well heated can be easily ventilated it and are lighted with electricity. The city clerk's office will be for the present in the law office of Evan F. Littlefield, Odd Fellows' block.