Vermont Industrial School

The Vermont Industrial School, which became the Weeks School, was a publicly-funded reform school located along Otter Creek in Vergennes, Vermont. Sold to the State of Vermont by the United States Department of War in 1873, the grounds and a couple of remaining buildings were part of the Champlain Arsenal which had been vacated by the United States Army in 1872. The industrial school moved to the Vergennes site in 1874[1] from Waterbury following a fire that engulfed their previous school. In 1937, the name was changed to the Weeks School to memorialize John E. Weeks, the 61st Governor of Vermont and former trustee of the school.[2] The Weeks School was closed in 1979 due to nationwide deinstitutionalisation. The campus was soon leased to the United States Department of Labor and the Northlands Job Corps Academy opened, still occupying the buildings today. Two buildings of particular historic value are the stone Arsenal building and the brick Fairbanks building, both part of the Champlain Arsenal and were constructed in 1825.[3]

Vermont Industrial School
Vermont Reform School
Newly built structures during the Eugenics period.
Former namesChamplain Arsenal (1826-1872)
Alternative namesVermont Reform School (1874-1900)
The Weeks School (1937-1979)
General information
StatusRepurposed
TypeInstitutional
LocationVergennes, Vermont
CountryUnited States
Current tenantsNorthlands Job Corps Academy
Groundbreaking1825, 1874
Opened1874
Renovated1874, 1924, 1979
Closed1979
Cost$49,000
($1.27 million in 2022 dollars)
OwnerState of Vermont
Technical details
MaterialFoundation-Stone, Exterior-Brick, Roof-Slate
Known forHeavy usage of Eugenics practices

References

  1. "What is Eugenics?: Eugenics Project: A Documentary History, UVM". www.uvm.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  2. John J. Duffy, Ralph H. Orth, Samuel B. Hand (2003). The Vermont Encyclopedia. University Press of New England. pp. 300, 314, 315. ISBN 9781584650867.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. LandWorks and DuBois & King (September 18, 2015). "A Master Plan for the State of Vermont Otter Creek Campus and Lands in Vergennes and Ferrisburgh" (PDF).
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