Groton High School (Groton, Massachusetts)

The old Groton High School is a historic school building at 145 Main Street in Groton, Massachusetts. It has also variously been known as the Prescott School, Groton Junior High School, and Butler School. The building is two stories, with a flat roof. It is divided into four sections: a central portion that protrudes slightly from the main facade, which is topped by a pedimented gable, two wings that flank the central portion, and a rear section behind the central building. Because the building sits on a sloping lot, the rear section is actually three full stories; its ground floor section is made of concrete, while the rest of the building is predominantly made of brick, laid in a variation of an English cross bond pattern. The central portion was built in 1871 to a design by Henry M. Francis, originally with Second Empire styling, and named the Butler School in honor of a long-serving town clerk, Caleb Butler. The school served all grades until 1915.[2]

This article is about the historic high school building. For Groton's current high school, see Groton-Dunstable Regional High School.
Groton High School
Groton High School (Groton, Massachusetts) is located in Massachusetts
Groton High School (Groton, Massachusetts)
Groton High School (Groton, Massachusetts) is located in the United States
Groton High School (Groton, Massachusetts)
Location145 Main Street
Groton, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°36′26″N 71°34′11″W
Built1871; 1928
Architectural styleSecond Empire; Colonial Revival
NRHP reference No.10000057[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 2, 2010

In the late 1920s the building was extensively altered, adding the three wings, and removing the third floor of the original building, which had been damaged by fire in 1925. Exterior changes also gave the building its present Colonial Revival appearance. Despite significant alterations in use to accommodate different grades over the years, the building's interior also remained remarkably intact. In 1975, the town joined with neighboring Dunstable, and its high school students were relocated to the Groton-Dunstable Regional High School. This building was renamed the Colonel William Prescott School, and house lower grades until it was closed in 2008.[2]

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.[1]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "NRHP nomination for Groton High School". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
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