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Gridley School

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1854. 314 Washington St.
  • Gridley School (Peter Vanderwarker or Antonina Smith)

Built to accommodate the growing industrial population of South Canton, the Gridley School marks important changes in school architecture throughout Massachusetts from the 1840s on. A handsome two-story gabled rectangle of wood, painted white, the Gridley School provided two classrooms for three grades each. The Massachusetts Department of Education, under the direction of Secretary Horace Mann, developed a series of guidelines for school architecture in 1840 that still informed this building in 1854. The requirements were exacting and scientific, with guidelines for light, ventilation, and space per pupil that set new standards for the region and the country. The Gridley School continued in service until 1975; it now appropriately provides space for a childcare center, its original character well maintained.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Keith N. Morgan
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Data

What's Nearby

Revere Copper Company
Canton Viaduct
Canton Civic Center
Canton Junction Railroad Station
Draper Brothers Company

Citation

Keith N. Morgan, "Gridley School", [Canton, Massachusetts], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MA-01-CT6.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Massachusetts

Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston, Keith N. Morgan, with Richard M. Candee, Naomi Miller, Roger G. Reed, and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009, 533-533.

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