Irondale Schoolhouse opens May 25

MILLERTON — Residents are invited to take a trip back in time when the Irondale Schoolhouse, located at 16 Main St., opens for the season with a family-friendly event on Saturday, May 25.

The festivities begin at 11 a.m. when Bee Bee the Clown, also known as Jackie Reynolds, will entertain children with balloons, puppets, magic and more during a two-hour show. Sunday in the Country will offer hot dogs and sliders for lunch, and Millerton artist Ray Loper’s paintings of historic barns will be on display in the building. The oil-on-canvas pieces will be available for purchase, with 20 percent of the proceeds benefiting the schoolhouse.

Visitors are also welcome to tour the 1858 one-room schoolhouse and learn about the restoration process that saved the structure from demolition and relocated it to the village center.

“It’s a study in history, with  a focus on early education in the United States,” said Ralph Fedele, president of the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the building for the benefit of the community.

For example, the blackboard, back wall, clock and 48-star flag are original to the building. The colors are historic, based on paint scrapings. The cupola is an exact replica and houses a donated bell that children are encouraged to ring. All of the windows were rebuilt in mahogany and glazed with old glass.

With its location at the entrance of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, Fedele says the building is a tourist destination and a service to cyclists. More than 2,000 visitors stopped by schoolhouse last year from multiple continents, including Europe and South America.

“If anyone is interested in donating some time acting as a docent on weekends, it’s a wonderful opportunity to meet people from all parts of the world,” Fedele said.

The group is also planning an event on Sunday, June 9, in celebration of National Children’s Day. Children are invited to decorate their bicycles and join a parade on the Rail Trail that culminates at the schoolhouse, where free ice cream will be provided by Stewart’s Shops. Prizes will be awarded for the best-decorated bicycles. Participants should gather at the parking lot on South Center Street near the Rail Trail at 10:45 a.m. and ride together to the schoolhouse at 11 a.m., where Jonathan Grusauskas of the Music Cellar will perform music until 1 p.m. Outdoor games can be enjoyed by all. 

The Irondale Schoolhouse is open from late May to mid-October on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more at www.irondaleschoolhouse.org or 518-789-4619.

Darryl Gangloff sits on the board of the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse.