Published: October 26, 2007 02:13 am         

Back Roads: Educated past

Originally published in the October 19, 2007, print edition.

The Hewitt schoolhouse was recently placed on the National Register of Historic places. That means that the architecturally striking building has played a vital role in this central Minnesota town for nearly a century.

When the building was built in 1911 it was modern in its architectural style and its educational vision. At the time of construction, Hewitt was a community of just over 300 people, but the population was bursting out of their too-small 1893 school.

At the same time the government was beginning a trend that continues today — They believed that children were better educated in large schools than in small schools. To that end the state of Minnesota gave Hewitt $1,500 to build the school with the hope that the nearby rural schools would also send their children to Hewitt. That money was 15 percent of the cost of the new school. The Hewitt district convinced the rural districts to consolidate on behalf of educational efficiency.

The new school was intended to be efficient, durable and artistic. The two-and-a-half story building, designed by architect C. Howard Parsons, was one of the earliest to be made completely of concrete.

“The cement was hauled to the top in a pail,” said Jim Walker, the president of the Hewitt Historical Society. “The pail was pulled to the top with a horse and a pulley.”

The massive concrete structure, shaped in a cross, was capped with a striking cross gambrel roof. The building itself is adorned with more than 60 windows in 15 styles. It rests on a five-foot thick granite and concrete foundation. From some views the effect of the windows, roof and stucco exterior give the building a gingerbread house look.

At first the school had eight grades. Then, from 1931 to 1951, there were graduating high school students. In 1952 the Hewitt High School fell victim to school consolidation itself. All but grades one through five went to nearby Bertha. In 1980, the school closed. The Hewitt Historical Society now has a museum in the building.

Since then the city council had the wisdom to buy the building and work with the Historical Society, Lions Club and other civic organizations to keep the building central to the life of the town.

“It’s a grand old building,” Walker said. “We hope being on the National Register will help us find matching funds for maintenance.”

     

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