The Woodbury School House

Chartered in 1781, the town of Woodbury has a lengthy and evolving history of educating its children. Education in Woodbury has traditionally been connected to geography. In the late 1800s, the town had approximately ten one-room schoolhouses, dispersed over the town from South, East, and West Woodbury, including a school in the village in the building Shatney’s Garage now occupies. While the town’s history and population has altered with the rise and then decline of the quarries, the physical terrain of the town, with its rugged mountain range and many lakes and ponds, has been prioritized by the town to be protected. The school also owns 15 acres around the building. With ample garden space, easily-accessible trails, wetlands, and diverse wildlife, this property is well-suited to educating children. 

• A History of Energy Management at Woodbury Elementary
• Proposed Maintenance Projects - Updated October 2016

The current Woodbury school was built between 1911 and 1914, and initially educated elementary and high school students, although high school students shortly thereafter were tuitioned to high schools in Cabot, Hardwick, Barre, Montpelier, and Springfield. By the late 1950s, Woodbury high school students attended classes in Calais or Hardwick. Hazen Union High School opened in 1970, with the towns of Hardwick and Greensboro. Under this union contract, Woodbury students from grades 7-12 have since then attended Hazen. While the history of educating Vermont children sprawls into complex terrain with the creation and strengthening of supervisory unions, federal mandates, and evolving and tightening methods of assessment, what does remain constant is Woodbury’s need and desire to educate its children in the best manner possible, at a cost reasonable and acceptable to its citizens. 

While many  of the state’s beautiful old schoolhouses have converted to adult office space or other uses, the Woodbury schoolhouse remains one of the oldest buildings in our state used since its inception solely for educating children. The town should rightfully be proud of this gracious, four-classroom building. With its pressed tin, ornate windows, and impressive woodwork, this schoolhouse is not merely solidly constructed, but beautifully built as well. Under the meticulous and thoughtful care of Larry Eldred, the schoolhouse, over a number of years, has improved with 21st century energy efficiency techniques, and now ranks in the top 25% of energy efficient schools nationwide. Our school was selected in 2013 with eleven Vermont schools by the Environmental Protection Agency for an Energy Star certified school. The school board believes the Woodbury schoolhouse reflects education in our town: housed in history, yet dynamic and alive.