Chazy Central Rural School: Historical Marker
- Alysha Kuhn
- Jun 21
- 3 min read
The idea for a consolidated school district originated with local Presbyterian minister, George R. Mott who wrote a nineteen-page pamphlet detailing all of his arguments for consolidating the rural school districts of Chazy. The idea was propelled by an act passed by New York State in 1914 called the Central Rural Schools Act which encouraged rural schools to consolidate. However, the Act did not come with state aid incentives until 1925, so not many rural schools consolidated. Nonetheless, Chazy Central Rural School District would become one of the earliest schools to consolidate.
Local philanthropist William Henry Miner saw George R. Mott's vision and decided to
make it happen. Word soon got out that W.H. Miner had bought a plot of land for the school to sit on. So, on November 15, 1915, all the community members of Chazy gathered to discuss the consolidation. Mott provided his arguments and Miner promised to not only build the school but also make up the difference in annual operating costs that could not be paid through local taxes. The residents soon voted 466 to 22 in favor of consolidating the school districts and thus establishing Chazy Central Rural School.
Construction quickly began on the five story Spanish mission style structure that was designed by the architect Frederick B. Townsend. The school soon opened in the fall of 1916. The school had everything a rural school would need with two gymnasiums and two swimming pools (one for boys and one for girls), an extensive library, and even themed classrooms such as the Shakespeare room. The school not only served the students of Chazy, but it also served the community. The building had a 1,000-seat auditorium with an organ and a film projector that would screen movies and entertain the community of Chazy.
In fact, the school was so innovative that it was featured in the New York Times on October 16, 1921. The article read, "In a village of 800 inhabitants, this school of 500 fills not only a county but a city need." The article goes on to marvel at the many accommodations that Mott and Miner made to the students and community of Chazy. Chazy Central worked with the rural community, there were agricultural science classes for students to perfect their farm management skills, homemaking classes, and even arts classes. The school also accepted milk from local farmers to test for purity and butterfat. The principal of Chazy Central at the time of the article explained how they were able to get more students to continue school past eighth grade, "'There has been a marked change in the attitude of the public mind toward education in this district during the last 5 years.'" Rather than returning to the farm after eighth grade, Chazy Central was able to encourage students to continue attending school by offering agriculture science, and homemaking classes which would perfect the skills they needed when they left school.
In 1954 the district even added on a new Industrial Arts and Homemaking wing which included a complete house. In later years this house would become the principal's residence. However, things began to turn in the early 1960s when more than a quarter of the school's budget was being spent on repairs and the state education department even declared some parts of the building unusable. There needed to be a change. To remodel would cost too much and the building itself was already too small. So, in March 1967, the decision was made to build a whole new school. On January 6, 1969, the new school opened and is still utilized by the Chazy community today. The historical marker was erected by the Chazy Yorkers Club in 1966. Although the marker read that Chazy Central was the first consolidated school in New York State, it in fact was not, although it was one of the earliest consolidated school districts.
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