Stony Hill School

Friends of Stony Hill School Records

Windsor Historical Society

96 Palisado Avenue, Windsor, CT 06095

Creator: Warren Giffin and the Friends of Stony Hill School

Dates: 1986-1998

Extent: .25 linear foot

Accession #: 2001.6

Location: Library

Administrative History or History

Stony Hill School is a one-room brick schoolhouse occupying 0.2 acres on the east side of Windsor Avenue in Windsor, CT. The school was originally built in 1850 on the west side, near Orchard Road. The building was moved to its present site at 1195 Windsor Ave in 1899 when the land was deeded to the Windsor Board of Education by Erastus E. Case for “free public school purposes.” Stony Hill School served as an elementary school (and briefly as a kindergarten) in Windsor’s second district until 1969. It was closed because its location, on a hill surrounded by busy roads, was considered too dangerous for the young students. Case’s heirs began a lawsuit over the land in 1970, claiming that because the land was no longer being used as a school it violated Case’s deed. The Town of Windsor settled the lawsuit with a payment of $16,500 to Case’s heirs. The school was renovated during the 1990s and was reopened as an educational museum in1998.

In 1987, the Friends of Stony Hill School, an organization which included many former students of the school and led by chairman Robert Geisel, began its efforts to restore the school. Most of their work consisted of raising funds for and overseeing the repair of the school in the 1990s, including the addition of a new roof; restoring the floors; heating, plumbing, electrical work; and handicapped ramps. The Friends returned the school to the appearance of a late 19^th/early 20^th century schoolhouse with artifacts and furnishings to show today’s children what school was like in the early 1900s.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains minutes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, a list of committee members, press releases, property plans, and a prioritized list of needed repairs. The materials have been assembled from variety of sources and do not present a complete record of the committee’s work. The collection also includes black and white and color photographs which show the school before and after the renovations and images of the first open house event in October 1998.

Arrangement Each series is arranged chronologically.

Series I. Minutes, Correspondence, and Property Plans 1987-1998

Series II. Newspaper Articles 1986-1998

Series III. Photographs 1987-1991

Series IV. Additional Materials 1988-1995

Related Materials

Subject Files: Schools – Stony Hill School

Oral History Collection – Tape #10 (Accession #1993.22.1) – Mary Memery

Subject Terms

Geisel, Robert

Giffin, Warren

Holmes, Shirley

Memery, Mary

Nearing, Jane

Schools -- Connecticut -- Windsor

Windsor (Conn.) -- Schools

Custodial

Collection processed in April 2008 and finding aid compiled by Sara Hawran March 2009

4/4/2009