Today, Friends of the Number Nine Schoolhouse (FNNS) officially closed on the historic 1903 schoolhouse at 831 Mill Brook Road in Fayston, Vermont — and it almost didn’t happen without an extraordinary act of generosity.
The Burley family, who have owned and worked from the building since 1962, offered the property to FNNS at half its appraised value and carried a five-year mortgage to make the purchase possible. Without that commitment, the numbers simply wouldn’t have worked. It’s a rare thing when the sellers of a property are as invested in its future as the buyers — and that alignment of values made all the difference.
The path to closing wasn’t short. FNNS was formed in 2021 by friends and neighbors who believed the schoolhouse deserved a second life as a community asset. Over the following years, board members John Williams, Kevin Russell, Jill Burley, and Andrea Henderson worked through the legal and financial groundwork: obtaining 501(c)(3) charitable status, engaging attorneys and tax advisors, and negotiating the purchase agreement. They also contributed personally to cover early costs before any fundraising had begun.
When it came time to raise the funds needed to close, the community showed up. A direct appeal to Fayston property owners — neighbors who pass the schoolhouse every day — raised enough to cover closing costs, property taxes, and the first principal payment on the mortgage. That response was not a given. It was earned, and it matters.
The lower level of the building is already occupied by two nonprofit tenants — the Northern Forest Canoe Trail and, soon, the Catamount Trail Association — whose missions align closely with our own. They bring long-term stability and daily life to the building while the bigger work of restoration and programming gets underway.
This purchase is the beginning, not the end. Our seven-step plan lays out the road ahead through 2030: renovation, programming, grant funding, and community engagement. There is a great deal still to do — and we’d love your help doing it.