Bridgewater District School #9
480 Main St
1849
Architectural Style
Italianate
Significance
Architecture, Education
Use Type
Public School, Single Family Dwelling House
Neighborhood
Bridgewater Town Center
Massachusetts Historical Commission Report
Architectural Significance
This is an interesting, although altered, example of a mid-19th c. Bridgewater school house. Rising 2 1/2 stories from a brick basement to a gable roof with return eaves, its 3-bay main facade features porch and 2-story bay additions. Windows retain their Italianate, cornice-headed lintels. The Main St. School was one of the larger mid-19th c. Bridgewater schools.
Historical Significance
District School No. 9 (Main St. School) was opened in 1849. With an enrollment of 71 in 1854 the school was deemed "too big for just one teacher. It was badly constructed and inconvenient to be reached from the town center." In 1888 this building was renamed the Main Street School—at that time plumbing was installed and the stairs and floors were renewed. Briefly closed in 1903-1904, the school suffered from heating problems and the need for improvements that would cost $1,000. In 1913 the school was closed permanently and the students were transferred to the McElwain and Prospect Street Schools.