Last Sundays at the Schoolhouse

Ringing in a New School Year As part of the Gateway Project, a Semiquincentennial project to upgrade the three triangles along Route 35 leading to Main Street, has brought a new roof and chimney facing to the schoolhouse, and accent lighting to the grounds, which will undergo further landscaping shortly. The school bell will be ringing on Sunday, Aug. 30, at the West Lane District/Peter Parley Schoolhouse, which will be open to visitors from 1 to 4 p.m. As Ridgefield students get ready to return to school, it may be fun to see what school was like centuries ago. Try writing on a slate with a piece of soapstone or look at samples of the books that Peter Parley (Samuel G. Goodrich) wrote for young scholars. Try your hand at an old-fashioned toy or imagine what recess was like back in the days of horses and buggies. A schoolhouse has been on the West Lane site since the mid-18th Century; the last class there was in 1915. Preserved as a small museum of early education by the Ridgefield Garden Club, the schoolhouse is now maintained by the Ridgefield Historical Society. For more information, visit ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org.