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GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Program
NYS Historic
Subject
Building, Education
Location
17 Liberty St, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590, USA
Lat/Long
41.552270983495, -73.967517483269
Grant Recipient
Millbrook Historical Society
Historic Marker

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Inscription

GRAMMAR SCHOOL
BUILT 1875 WHEN COMMUNITY
WAS KNOWN AS LOW POINT.
SCHOOL CLOSED CA. 1959 WHEN
DISTRICT MERGED WITH BEACON
CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2024

Located along the Hudson River sits the former Dist. No. 4. grammar school, which was constructed in 1875 when the village was known as Low Point before being renamed Chelsea.

The school and village are described in the 1882 publication, History of Dutchess County New York: Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers by James H. Smith.

Low Point (Carthage Landing P.O.) is a station on the Hudson River Railroad in the southwest corner of the town, 3.53 miles above Fishkill Landing 2.57 miles below New Hamburgh. Its name was given to designate its low land in contradistinction from the high lands at New Hamburgh. It contains two churches, (Episcopal and M.E.,) a district school—a brick structure twenty-seven by fifty-four feet, erected in 1875.

The school was closed ca. 1959 when the Chelsea-Brockway and Red Schoolhouse districts merged with the Beacon City School District. As of 2024, the former grammar school building continues to serve the local community, housing both the fire district office and the post office.

The historical marker commemorating the history of the former grammar school came about thanks to the students at Arlington High School, led by teacher Robert McHugh, who partnered with the Millbrook Historical Society to research the history of the school and successfully apply for grant funding for a historical marker through the Pomeroy Foundation.