Conant High School started with an idea – an idea that every child in Jaffrey deserved a free secondary education, which was not a universal concept when the school was first established by John Conant 150 years ago.
“He believed every child should have a really good education,” said Karen Ayers, member of the Jaffrey Historical Society.
The Jaffrey Historical Society is marking the anniversary with an exhibit on the top floor of the Jaffrey Public Library, featuring information about the history of the high school, as well as artifacts such as slate chalkboards and yearbooks from the school’s past, donated over the years to the Historical Society’s collection.
Once, Jaffrey didn’t have a free public high school; it operated mostly on several small one-room school houses, with a few private schools such as the Melville Academy for secondary education. In 1870, Conant, a wealthy farmer, donated $7,000 – the equivalent of $138,000 in today’s economy – to establish a public high school, known then as the Conant Free High School.
“He died before he was able to see the true fruits of his labor, but he would have been proud,” said Jaffrey Historical Society member and past president Bruce Hill.
Originally, the school alternated yearly between the Jaffrey center, in the Melville Academy building and in the Jaffrey Meetinghouse, and what is now downtown Jaffrey at the Union House and eventually on the site of the Jaffrey Grade School. Over time, the population shifted, and in 1897, the school settled in the downtown.
“It’s been in many locations. ‘Conant High School’ is a concept, rather than a building,” Hill said.
The school didn’t move to its current location on Stratton Road until 1915, when it also began to teach junior high school grades. The building has expanded several times since, including most recently in 1954, when the current high school section was added on.
The Historical Society also currently has an ongoing exhibit on Willa Cather, an American author who summered and wrote in Jaffrey, and is buried here.
Both exhibits are currently on display on the top floor of the Jaffrey Public Library, and will be available for viewing when the library is open to patrons during regular hours again. Both displays will be available through the spring.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.