Moretown Mad River Byway
Original Formal Name: Taplin School District #8 Schoolhouse. The Taplin School, now owned by Green Mountain Power Corp. and used for storage, is on Route 100B in Moretown near the GMP hydroelectric plant on the Winooski River. Built around 1860, it is listed with the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. (Historic Preservation code number 1212-57). The structure survey indicates its level of significance as “state”; there is no threat to the structure, which is stone foundation, with clapboard siding, called “vernacular” in style. Since this is the last one room schoolhouse extant and not used as a dwelling, the Town of Moretown is highly interested in acquiring and preserving this old schoolhouse. . .Earline Marsh 1999
Download Mad River Byway Historic Sites Task Group Minutes:Nov. 30, 2006
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Times Argus: Valley recognized as Byway Federal Highway Administration Grant |
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“This former schoolhouse has a gabled roof which runs north-south toward the road. Narrow cornerboards frame the building. On the principal gable facade is a center entry with a 4 panel and 2 light door. Sheltering the entry is a gabled roof hood on brackets. Flanking the entry are 4, 2/2 sash; there is a 2/2 sash in the gable peak. On the gable rear (north) is a side entry. To the right of the entry are 3 large 12/12 sash which are set in a single surround. On the right (east) elevation are 2, covered window bays. On the left (west) elevation are 2, 2/2 sash. Attached on the front of the left (west) elevation is a small shed roof shed with a side entry.
"It was named for the Taplin family who lived in the area. In an effort to achieve the ‘superior’ status it was ‘modernized’ in the early 1900s. The school is a very plain, vernacular structure.” . . .Earline Marsh 1999
Mad River Byway: Nestled in Moretown (Route 100B) and Middlesex Village (Route 2), the Mad River Byway is characterized by its classic New England landscape and architecture - mountain ridgelines, a winding river, hillside farms, and steepled villages. Moretown Village, as one of the key destinations along the corridor, has a rich history that is visible today in its churches, memorials, farms, architecture, recreation and community life. Located in the region that includes the famous Sugarbush and Mad River Glen ski areas, the corridor is also experiencing steady growth, not only as a tourist destination but as a beautiful place to live. There is a current initiative to extend the Byway south on Route 100 through Granville Gulf, and on Route 17 to the top of the Appalachian Gap. . . John LaBarge, Scenic Byways Coordinator