Program

NYS Historic, Pomeroy Education Program

Subject

Education, Site

Location

115 College Ave, Arlington, NY 12603, USA

Lat/Long

41.691159, -73.906515

Grant Recipient

Arlington High School

On November 16^th, 1877, the Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle announced that a new schoolhouse was going to be built, and that a “fine lot” on College Avenue, between Park and Grand Avenues had been purchased. The paper reported that the school would be built for an estimated $3,000. The old school had been deemed insufficient, as the neighborhood began to grow following Vassar College’s establishment in 1861.

Nearly one year later, on September 14^th, 1878, a dedication ceremony was held for the opening of the new schoolhouse in what was at that time called East Poughkeepsie. The Courier described the new building as “a credit to the enterprise and good taste of our East Poughkeepsie friends”. The paper also described the building as having cost $5,000 to build, and having a seating capacity of 250 students, although they only expected to have around 150 pupils to start (September 15^th, 1878).

On September 25, 1913, the Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle announced that the taxpayers of School District No. 7 in Arlington had voted to approve an $18,000 addition to the College Avenue School. The addition was described as a two-story structure with four rooms, to be added to the back and side of the existing structure. It nearly doubled the seating capacity to 480.

By September of 1930 the school was part of the Arlington consolidated school district and only serving 207 students out of the total 887 in the district (The Poughkeepsie Eagle News, September 20, 1930). In 1934 there was a vote held to determine the use of the building, and it was decided it would be sold, along with two other old school buildings in the district. Two new schools had been built nearby in 1926 and 1933 and had made the school on College Avenue unnecessary. In 1935 it was sold to a private citizen who converted it into a home. Today it is a mix of apartments and offices.

The student-led application for this grant came from students at Arlington High School, led by instructor Robert McHugh. The students researched the College Ave School, then gathered and submitted the required materials for the historical marker as part of our Pomeroy Education Program.