By Virginia Drye
Eagle Times Staff
PLAINFIELD, N.H. — The town of Plainfield celebrated a milestone on Sunday, Aug. 27, as Plainfield Elementary celebrated its 50th anniversary.
During the 11th Annual Plainfield Spirit Day Celebration, the Plainfield Historical Society displayed old pictures, yearbooks, and newspaper clippings for the residents to see and reminisce.
The special occasion not only marked a celebration of community-focused education, but also the unification of two villages into one school.
Ever since the 1700s, Plainfield, with its two villages Plainfield and Meriden, had had its education done by several one-room schoolhouses scattered throughout town. After the end of World War II, the population of school-aged children had grown, and there was a need for a larger space for education. Up to that point, students up to eighth grade had been separated into two 2-room schoolhouses on either side of town: the Plain School in Plainfield Village and the White School in Meriden.
Steve Beaupre, former principal and longtime teacher at the school, told the Eagle Times that before the merger, “the Plainfield Plain School had [grades] 1 through 4, and the White School, 5 through 8.”
The older grades were in Meriden because they could use the Kimble Union Academy facilities for sports.
Long-time Town Moderator Steve Taylor related that the schools had other issues besides bursting at the seams.
“Number one, there were some problems with [the schoolhouse buildings] and they didn’t have any insulation,” said Taylor. “People began to think, ‘Gee, we ought to have a consolidated school.’”
The plan for a unified school was addressed at a town meeting in 1972. However, the potential location proved to be problematic.
“They hadn’t pinned down the location. The guy that owned the land at the end of Stage Road and 12A, where McNamara’s has a big cornfield now, led everybody to believe that he would sell the land for a new school, but at the last minute, he backed out,” Taylor said.
Another suggested location was on Westgate Road, where the current condos are located. Some money was set aside at the meeting to pay the architect and some extra in case they could find a piece of land.
Land would eventually be purchased from Nelson LaPan, Taylor explained.
The school opened in September 1973, and the front half was reserved for town office facilities, such as space for the select board and town clerk. By the 1990s, the school continued to grow, and the town offices moved out to its current location on Main Street.
While there has been some tension over the years between Meriden and Plainfield, it’s clear the 50th anniversary marks something important.
“We can agree upon children’s education,” Beaupre said.
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