The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts Records 1681-1993 Guide to the Collection The bulk of the Eliot School records (except for the oversize items) are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Historical Sketch Sources Collection Description Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms Materials Removed from the Collection

Collection Summary

Historical Sketch

In 1642 a new Massachusetts law required every parent, as well as every master of an apprentice, to ensure that their children learn to read and write. A 1647 law required towns consisting of fifty or more families to hire a schoolmaster to educate the children of the town in reading and writing. These laws were subsequently enforced in 1675, when the General Court of Massachusetts created a new class of government officials charged with inspecting families to make sure they obeyed the education laws.

On October 2, 1676, thirty-eight residents of Jamaica Plain (also called Pond Plain) pledged to pay various sums, from one shilling to two pounds, annually for twelve years for support of a school. The sums totaled fourteen pounds and eleven shillings to be paid yearly in corn, "half Indian and the other half English, at the current price amongst us," on or before the 25th day of March. Before the end of that year, several residents gave land to fund the school. John Ruggles gave the triangular piece of land in front of the Unitarian Church where the Soldiers' Monument now stands. Hugh Thomas and his wife Clement gave their house, orchard, lot and night pasture to the school on the condition that the residents would care for them as they got older. Others also donated smaller pieces of land.

The most significant donor was the Rev. John Eliot, for whom Eliot Street and Eliot Hall are also named. The minister to Native Americans gave 75 acres of land to the school in 1689. He wrote that the proceeds were to be used "for teaching and instructing of the children of that end of town (together with such Negroes or Indians as may or shall come to said school)..." Eliot said the purpose of the school was "to remove the inconvenience of ignorance."

The Eliot School has had four different locations. First, it was located in two different buildings in the area where the Soldiers' Monument now stands. In 1787, the school was moved from its original location to the corner of Centre and Green Streets. In 1832, it moved to the building at 24 Eliot St. next to the Unitarian Church where it is today. In 1840 it became a high school, when the trustees partnered with the West Roxbury School Committee, with the genders separated into different departments.

In 1855, the Girls' Department, which was very popular, was moved to Village Hall where the city parking lot is behind Blanchard's. In 1858, the Boys' Department moved there as well, and the building at 24 Eliot St. was leased to the town for use as a primary school. In 1868, the Eliot High School moved to a new building on Elm Street on the site currently occupied by the old Jamaica Plain High School building. When the town of West Roxbury was annexed to the City of Boston in 1874, the trustees of the Eliot School terminated their connection to the high school and moved back to 24 Eliot St.

In the 1870s and 1880s, the Eliot School began its "manual training" era. Gradually, classes like drawing, painting, sewing and cooking were added. Stenography and typewriting were offered in 1887. The Eliot school provided these classes to public school students living in the area.

In 1905, the Eliot School's stated purpose was to "satisfy that instinctive desire of human beings to create," and they maintain that mission today through classes led by professional artists and master craftspeople in fine and applied arts to adults and children.

Sources

Sandra Storey, "Eliot School in Session Here Since 1676,"Jamaica Plain Gazette: 21 Jan. 2005.

Charles Fox, "A Brief History of the Eliot School,"Newsletter of the Eliot School, Vol. 1, n.d.

Collection Description

The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts records consist of seven record cartons and three oversize boxes that span the years 1689-1993, with the bulk between 1880-1960. The collection is divided into five series: Land Records, Administrative Records, Financial Records, School Materials, and Oversize Documents.

The records of the Eliot School reflect the evolution of trends in education that lead the school from its original use as a primary school for local settlers, an academic high school, a technical school, and finally a school of fine and applied arts. The bulk of the collection consists of the administrative and financial records of the Eliot School, including annual reports written by directors, teachers, treasurers, and accountants; meeting minutes of the proprietors of the school and the trustees of the board; correspondence and other papers retained by the director of the school; and loose and bound accounts, bills, and receipts kept by the treasurer.

In addition to the administrative and financial papers, the collection also includes land records that document the early acquisition of school land. The residents in the community donated land in order to establish the local primary school. The land was leased, rented, and partitioned into buildable lots and sold in order to fund the construction, operation, and maintenance of the school. Of special interest is a subseries of land records that were purchased in 1932 from an antiquarian book dealer, who had found them in a Boston bookshop.

Finally, the collection includes materials created and used by the teachers of the school; drawings and other artwork created by the students; and catalogs, invitations, and other Eliot School printed ephemera.

Acquisition Information

Deposited by the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts in December 2003.

Restrictions on Access

The bulk of the Eliot School records (except for the oversize items) are stored offsite and must be requested at least one business day in advance. Contact the Library at library@masshist.org or (617) 536-1608 to request materials. Please discuss your request with the reading room staff before requesting cartons by barcode.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

The Eliot School of Applied Arts records, Massachusetts Historical Society.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Materials Removed from the Collection

Photographs from this collection have been removed to the MHS Photo Archives.