The Walpole Academy is a historic former school building on Main Street in
Walpole, New Hampshire
Walpole is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,633 at the 2020 census.
The town's central village, where 573 people resided at the 2020 census, is defined as the Walpole census-designated place (CDP) and ...
. It is now owned by the Walpole Historical Society and operated as a local history museum. Built in 1831, it is a fine rural example of a 19th-century
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
academy building, which served the surrounding area as a private academy until 1853, and as Walpole's public high school until 1950. The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1975.
Description and history
The former Walpole Academy building stands on the south side of Walpole's village center, set well back on the east side of Main Street. It is a -story wood-frame structure, covered with gabled roof and wooden clapboards. The building has a classic Greek temple appearance, with
Doric column
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of c ...
s supporting an
entablature and a triangular
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedim ...
with a fanlight detail. The building is topped by an octagonal, arcaded cupola.
[
Walpole Academy was established as a private secondary school in 1825. The present building was erected in 1831, probably by Aaron Prentiss Howland, a local builder known for many local high quality Greek Revival designs. The academy remained private until 1853, when the town acquired it for use as its high school. It was purchased from the town by the historical society in 1950.]
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
References
External links
Walpole Historical Society
- Academy Museum
{{NRHP in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
Greek Revival architecture in New Hampshire
School buildings completed in 1831
Museums in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
History museums in New Hampshire
Historical societies in New Hampshire
National Register of Historic Places in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
Walpole, New Hampshire
1831 establishments in New Hampshire