WESTFIELD – The School Committee and Law Department are researching the property title of the Wyben Schoolhouse in preparation of transferring ownership of the single-room school, built in 1861, to the city’s Historical Commission.
The Historical Commission initiated the restoration of the historic building several years ago and found that the property was still in the custody and control of the School Department although it has not been used as a school since the 1939.
School Finance and Maintenance Director, Ron Rix, said Tuesday that because there is no deed for the property on record the School Committee is performing a title search to establish a clear claim to ownership of the property before it can declare the property, located on Montgomery Road, surplus, a step needed to transfer it to the Historical Commission.
“We have no purpose for it,” Rix said. “It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring it up to code, but it does have significant historical significance.”
The city’s Community Preservation Commission allocated $25,000, which the City Council appropriated, to prevent further weather damage to the structure which was originally called the West Farms Schoolhouse.
Walter Fogg of the Historical Commission said that residents of that neighborhood applied to the US Post Office for a postal station under the West Farms name, but was told to change the community’s name because there was already a West Farms post office in Northampton, so the neighborhood became known as Wyben.
Rix said the CPC funding has been used to “shore up the envelope” of the building by patching the roof, and repairing the existing windows of the building. Work will be done this fall to repair the front door of the building and to install a wood floor in a firewood storage area located beside the front door. The school had two wood stoves used to heat the building.
Fogg said that the Historical Commission will continue restoration of the building.
“I’d love to see it (the property transfer) happen as soon as possible,” Fogg said. “I’m hoping that the School Committee can vote on that in October.
“It’s something that right up our alley, so it’s better to have it in our committee to get this restoration work back on track,” Fogg said.
The Wyben Schoolhouse, after restoration, would become a historical asset for the city, similar to the Dewey House on South Maple Street.
“We’d love to tie it into the education program with the Dewey House, to get it to the point where we can bring fourth and fifth graders as part of their education on the city’s history,” Fogg said. “We’d love to have people from Wyben dress in period customs and serve as docents.”
Fogg said that the restored schoolhouse would also be available to “groups interested in the history if single-room schoolhouses.
“There are a number of single-room schoolhouses which are being or have been restored in the region,” Fogg said.
