Putnam High School - Putnam CT - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Putnam High School is a large High Victorian Gothic-style brick school built in 1874. It is now the Putnam Town Hall. The hip-roofed building is rectangular in plan and is two and half stories tall. The building factes Church Street is on a residential street. Two towers dominate the corners. The taller of the two is 3 stories hight with a gabled clock stage, belfry and steeply pitched. A clock was never installed. Alterations to the exterior have been relatively minor and mostly confined to the secondary elevation.

As one of the oldest remaining high school structure in Connecticut, Putnam High School represents and important chapter in the state's history, the development of public high school education. In the second half of the 19th century, citizens in many of the state's cities and larger towns perceived a need for higher level of education beyound that offered by the district schools. Putnam, a properous manufacturing and commercial center was no exception. The building also has architectual significance as a well-preserved example of High Victorian Gothic style.

The completion of the school in 1874 exemplified the slow but steady development of public seconcary education in Connecticut. In the early 19th century reformers advocated education systems that would go beyond the one and two-room elementary schools. Middletown established the first permanent high school in 1840 and Hartford followed in 1847. At a town meetin gin 1873 the citizens of Putnam approved the construction of a high school. In the first year of operation 39 students were taught by 2 college graduates. The school offered a broad curriculm of science, math, history and literature. 3 students graduated at the first school's first sommencement. Higher education beyond the basic education was considered a waste of time by many folks of the time.

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Street address: 126 Church St. Putnam, CT County / Borough / Parish: Windham Year listed: 1993 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1875-1899, 1850-1874 Historic function: Education Current function: Government Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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