Recalling Peru’s Educational History
By John T. Ryan
Peru – Rehabilitating the Town of Peru’s Lyon Street School is continuing. Randy LaValley Construction is in the process of staining and installing new clapboards on the 150+ year old one-room schoolhouse at the corner of the Lyons Road and Rock Road. School centralization forced the school’s closing in the 1930’s. Frederick Lyons, a nearby farmer, purchased the building in 1939 and used it as a hay barn for many years.
In 2011, Marion Dixon, Frederick Lyons’ daughter, and her husband Al gifted the school to the Town for the princely sum of $1. Since then Town Historian Ron Allen has succeeded in having the school listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has devoted about 90% of his $5,000 +/- annual budget to the school’s restoration. The improvements include replacing the support members and sills; repairing and remounting the school bell; replacing the concrete entrance steps. A $7,880 grant from Clinton County enabled the Town to install a metal roof.
Last Friday, Randy LaValley was busy staining and erecting scaffolding. He had already replaced deteriorated boards in the entryway, repaired the entryway ceiling, replaced and reglazed several windows and installed plastic facia around the window frames and along the clapboard base.
Restoring the classroom is Ron Allen’s next goal. He’d like to see it repaired and painted and is searching for a pot belly stove, period chalkboards and period desks. In the not too distant future Allen foresees students taking field trips to the school.
Click here to view a 2010 Peru Gazette story that includes more about the school’s history.
Posted: October 3rd, 2018 under Education News, Peru School News, Peru/Regional History.