After a brief hiatus, The Old Stone Schoolhouse, located at 40 North Street in Fairhaven, MA, will reopen to the public on select Saturdays through the rest of 2023. Opening hours will be 10:00 am to 1:00 pm on the following dates: September 2nd, 16th, and 30th; October 21st, November 4th & 18th, and December 2nd, 2023.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to once again open The Old Stone Schoolhouse to the public,” said Michael Kelly, a member of the Fairhaven Historical Commission. “This is a hidden gem that made a remarkable contribution to the history of the region, and we look forward to welcoming visitors from near and far.”
The Old Stone Schoolhouse is a one-room schoolhouse built in 1828 at a cost of $520.01, and served as the first public School in Fairhaven, operating until 1896 when the nearby, and much larger, Oxford School opened.
Manjiro Nakahama, a fourteen-year-old Japanese boy who was rescued by a New Bedford whaleship after being shipwrecked on a small island in the Pacific Ocean, attended classes at the Old Stone Schoolhouse. Upon returning to Japan many years later, Manjiro Nakahama would play a role in the negotiations between Commodore Matthew Perry and the Empire of Japan.
For additional information, please contact The Fairhaven Office of Tourism at 508-979-4085.
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