County gives the OK for schoolhouse relocation

MILLERTON — Kealy Salomon, Dutchess County’s commissioner of development and planning, called Ralph Fedele herself to announce the good news: The county has approved the relocation of the Irondale Schoolhouse onto property just feet from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in the center of Millerton.

The OK from Dutchess County was a big hurdle to cross in legitimizing the grassroots effort to move the schoolhouse from its current location on the edge of Route 22 north of the village to a more centralized area where it could be better utilized by the local historical society and the surrounding community.

Fedele is heading the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse, the organization that will be responsible for the project. Over the past year, as is pointed out on the many “Save the 1858 Irondale Schoolhouse� flyers distributed, quite a few steps have been made:

A $5,000 deposit was made on the building, which would secure an agreement to purchase the building from Floyd Rosini, whose land the building is currently on, for a little less than $30,000.

Local builders have signed up to help with the moving process, which will require a new foundation for the building once it is relocated. The project is split into two phases, the first of which is purchasing and moving the building. The second phase, which is not as urgent, involves restorations and renovations that would bring the building into whatever its future use will be.

Phase 1 will cost around $75,000, and the Friends of Irondale Schoolhouse fund has already collected about $16,000 in donations.

“We have money that can start the process,� Fedele said. “The foundation will cost about $10,000. Maybe that will start in the spring, along with a major fundraising event.� There will be a giant thermometer sign recording donation progress.

There are still a lot of things left to be decided. The Department of Traffic has to sign off on a moving date so the road can be closed off while the building is transported. And the utility companies will need to be involved as well, as there are numerous electricity and phone lines hanging in the way.

But progress is being made, and all sorts of little successes are happening along the way; the organization has managed to acquire the original schoolhouse bell  for the cupola of the building, as well as several pieces of railroad memorabilia from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail bed that Fedele hopes will eventually serve as the beginning of a small railroad museum inside the schoolhouse.

“It’s no longer a question of whether it’s going to happen,� Fedele said proudly. “It’s a question of when.�

Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse is a 501(c)3 organization. Donations can be sent to Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse, PO Box 876, Millerton, NY 12546. All donations are tax deductible.