Friends of the Number Nine Schoolhouse is expanding representation on the board and seeking local support of services and funding to meet the goals of purchasing and preserving the building. With the help of local stakeholders, the Burley family seeks to transition the building, once the seat of education in our humble town, that was temporarily altered to accommodate the architect practice, back to community-based, sustainable activities.
The Mission Statement
The Number Nine Schoolhouse is a place where community members can Serve, Learn, Honor, Celebrate, and Thrive. To that effort, the Friends of the Number Nine Schoolhouse, Inc. (FNNS), a Vermont non-profit, has been formed to purchase and manage the property and building. FNNS is partnering with the Preservation Trust of Vermont (PTV), which provided matching funds for a conditions assessment by a qualified historic preservation specialist.
The Burley Legacy
In 1962, architect Robert Burley and his wife Patricia purchased the schoolhouse from the Town of Fayston after it closed as a school, transforming it into the home of the Burley Partnership — an architecture practice that operated from this two-room schoolhouse for over 60 years. Bob came to Vermont from architect Eero Saarinen’s office, where he had been a senior designer on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. From this humble building along the brook, the Burley Partnership went on to design some of Vermont’s most recognized buildings and spaces, including work on the Capitol Complex master plan in Montpelier, the Pavilion Hotel restoration, Trapp Family Lodge, and the Bailey-Howe Library at UVM.
Now retired, Bob and his daughter Jill Burley are committed to seeing the schoolhouse live on for a greater purpose — returning it to the community it once served. Their vision, and the formation of Friends of the Number Nine Schoolhouse, is the driving force behind this preservation effort.
Read the full history of the schoolhouse…
The Goal
A community-focused ethos is what is behind the Number Nine Schoolhouse preservation project. The historic two-room schoolhouse will be sustainable by combining long-term and short-term rental revenue from appropriate commercial and community-based uses supporting the mission. The lower floor of the building provides divided office space for one or more non-profit organizations. The main floor classroom has space for various small-scale community-based activities, including public meetings, instructional courses, music lessons, art classes, and other special programs consistent with the mission.
The historical context of the building is appropriate for exhibits, displays, and public events that honor our past and celebrate the present. With its unique setting along the Mill Brook in the Mad River Valley and at the gateway to the Green Mountains, the building offers a place as a hub for a wide range of wellness activities that connect to the outdoors. It is envisioned that a mix of many of these ideas will be organized and managed for the long-term sustainability of the building through careful consideration of community desires and needs, governed by a board of directors of local stakeholders.
An Eye Toward the Future
Everyone passes the Number Nine Schoolhouse on the way to school and the mountains. Linking the old and the new can be the first step in building spirit for the preservation project. Local students will take part in the process and have the opportunity to visit the schoolhouse. What a great thing it will be to hear the sound of children’s laughter in the schoolyard and the sound of the bell ringing that has been dormant these many decades.