Old Building

Cornwall Bridge Railroad Station // 1886

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One of the most attractive railroad depots in Connecticut, the Cornwall Bridge Railroad Station exists in almost complete originality. Its siding is board and batten and its slate roof with a wide overhang supported by the original brackets, showcases the attention to detail railroad companies paid to design and appoint these important landmarks. Built in 1886, the building can be classified as Stick Style and is one of a few buildings in town of the style, adding to its significance. The station was built by the Housatonic Railroad to replace an earlier station on the site. The Housatonic line was acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1892 and later by the Penn Central Railroad in 1969, which went bankrupt by 1970. This station was subsequently sold to private ownership and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a tool to bring awareness to its significance and threatened status. Luckily, the building was preserved and has been converted to a private residence.

Peter Parley Schoolhouse // 1756

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The Peter Parley Schoolhouse (also known as the West Lane Schoolhouse) in Ridgefield, CT, is an excellent example of a well-preserved one-room school building in Fairfield County. The little red schoolhouse was originally built in 1756 and either replaced or enlarged in the early 1800s. As Ridgefield in the early days was primarily an agricultural community, many children split their time either helping family on the farm or in school, with work almost always coming before education. The school is named for its most famous student, Samuel Griswold Goodrich. Goodrich went by the alias Peter Parley and was born in Ridgefield, attending the school between 1799-1803. He was a prolific writer, with over 170 books to his credit, and is believed by many to have written the first American textbooks. Samuel wrote about his experiences as a student there, giving locals and historians a look into early life in the town. In the early 1900s, the town consolidated schools and this building was closed. The town seemed to simply close the building and it saw some neglect over time until the Ridgefield Historical Society assumed a lease of the property, recently restoring it.