1681-2022
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The bulk of the Eliot School records (except for the oversize items) is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Abstract
This collection consists of the records of the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, 1681-2022, pertaining to the evolution of the school from a primary school to a high school, technical school, and finally a school of fine and applied arts.
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 50 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 2 October 1676, 38 residents of Jamaica Plain (also called Pond Plain) pledged to pay various sums, from one shilling to two pounds, annually for 12 years for support of a school. The sums totaled 14 pounds and 11 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 Street 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 Street 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 Street.
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, five document boxes, and three oversize boxes that span the years 1681-2022, with the bulk between 1880-1960. The collection is divided into six series: Land records, Administrative records, Financial records, School materials, Oversize documents, and Additions.
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 and July 2022.
Restrictions on Access
The bulk of the Eliot School records (except for the oversize items) is stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@masshist.org.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Land records, 1689-1932
This series contains early land records of the Eliot School, including deeds, leases, indentures, rent rolls, and plot plans that document the acquisition and maintenance of school land.
A. Founding documents, 1715-1932
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains Eliot School records, dated 1715-1837, that were purchased from an antiquarian bookseller in 1932, including primarily leases and deeds. Also included is correspondence pertaining to the purchase and a list of the documents.
B. Legal documents, 1689-1877
Arranged chronologically.
NOTE: The contents of Folder 31 have been removed to Box OS 3.
C. Plot plans, 1769-1835
D. Petitions and requests, 1821-1822
E. Miscellaneous land documents, 1792-1851
II. Administrative records, ca. 1716-1978
A. Annual reports, 1897-1978
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains annual reports written by the directors (also called superintendents) to the board of trustees of the Eliot School from 1897-1978. The reports include a summary of the year's activities, comments on classes and instructors' duties, and financial status of the school as reported by the treasurer.
B. Meeting minutes, 1804-1966
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains bound volumes of minutes kept during annual meetings of the proprietors of the Eliot School and annual and special meetings of the trustees of the board of the Eliot School. Meeting minutes, primarily kept by the secretaries of the board, include votes and resolutions on board, director, and teaching positions; reviews of the directors and treasurers reports; records of decisions made about the school; and other topics pertaining to the management of the school. Some meeting minutes include copies of the directors', teachers', and treasurers' reports.
C. Directors' records, 1779-1948
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains the administrative records kept by the directors of the Eliot School from 1779-1948, including annual class reports written by the teachers to the director, correspondence written and received, and other related documents. The subseries also includes some correspondence written and received by members of the Eliot School board.
D. Charter and by-laws (from the original created in 1804), ca. 1933
III. Financial records, 1701-1972
This series contains financial records created and retained by Eliot School treasurers, directors, and accountants from 1701-1972. The series include loose accounts and account books from 1716-1972, treasurers' statements from 1926-1943, audits and accountants' reports from 1846-1972, property assessments from 1898-1906, tax statements from 1956-1972, and bills, receipts, and accounts paid from 1701-1940.
A. Treasurers' accounts, 1716-1972
Loose, 1804-1972
Bound, 1716-1951
B. Treasurers' statements, 1926-1943
C. Accountants' reports, 1846-1972
D. Tax statements, 1950-1972
E. Property assessments, 1898-1906
F. Bills, receipts, and invoices, 1701-1940
G. Miscellaneous financial documents, 1899-1969
IV. School materials, ca. 1877-1993
This series contains materials used and created during various classes held at the Eliot School from ca. 1877-1968. Materials pertaining to woodworking, mechanical drawing, and sewing include lesson plans, handouts, textbooks and handbooks, and student folders. This series also contains 20th-century Eliot School printed ephemera, including course catalogs, enrollment cards, invitations to events, and note cards, among other ephemera.
A. Teachers' materials, 1877-1968
Lesson plans, 1905
Textbooks and handbooks, 1877-1968
B. Student woodworking folders, undated
C. Printed ephemera, 1901-1993
Course calenders, 1914-1993
V. Oversize documents, 1810-1927
This series contains oversize pen-and-ink drawings of student woodworking projects and household items mounted on cardboard, various architectural drawings and plans for the Eliot School from 1891-1927, and other miscellaneous oversize items.
VI. Additions, 1689-2022
A. Administrative records, 1750-2022
This subseries contains administrative records of the Eliot School. Superintendent and director reports to the board of trustees record decisions made for the management of the school, staffing reports, grant applications, financial needs, programming, events, publicity, and other news of note. Meeting minutes of the board of trustees include votes and resolutions on board, director, and teaching positions; reviews of the directors' and treasurers' reports; records of decisions made about the school; and other topics pertaining to the management of the school. The meeting minutes notebook was kept by predecessors of the Board and Trustees and includes some financial accounting.
B. Financial records, 1982-2021
C. School material, 1982-2021
This subseries contains materials related to school courses and additional programming and initiatives the school participated in. Printed ephemera includes course schedules and sessions, festivals, and exhibits, including artist-in-residence booklets.
D. History, 1689-2021
This subseries includes the historical sketch of the Eliot School compiled by trustee David Friedman. Other documents included consist of research material used by Friedman.
Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the MHS Photo Archives.
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.