Senators Tour Site of Old Ashaway School Demolition

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
August 8th 2024

ASHAWAY – Left vacant for 20 years, the old Ashaway School came down in a matter of days after U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse stepped in with $465,000 in federal funds to make the demolition happen.

The Senators were given a tour of the site on Wednesday by Town Council President Michael Geary, Vice President Scott Bill Hirst, and councilors Sharon Davis and Robert Burns. Also on hand to greet the Senators was Town Manager Brian Rosso, who submitted the funding request.

Whitehouse said, “The need was there, and it had been a long effort, so clearly, adding this grant was going to make a big difference, and that’s what we look for.”
Reed added that the removal of the old building would improve the entire neighborhood.
“It’s an important contribution to the community.,” he said. “It’ll now be green open space, a park. The proximity to the school was another problem, because it’s a decaying building, unfortunately, so after this, you’ll see a much more improved school environment, a much - improved town environment.”

Built in 1904, the elementary school building sat on Hillside Avenue, adjacent to the current Ashaway Elementary School. Residents who had attended the old school were sad to lose a piece of the town’s history, but neighbors, parents and teachers worried about hazardous materials inside the building and the possibility that the deteriorating structure might catch fire.

After ruling out possible new uses for the building, the Town Council voted in 2018 to have it demolished, but the stumbling block was the cost of remediation and demolition.
Reed and Whitehouse worked together to secure the federal earmark in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations law to cover the removal of hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos, as well as the demolition and removal of the structure.

The demolition began a week ago and will be completed in another two weeks. The work must be finished by Sept. 3, when the children return to school.

Geary said he was sad to see the school go, but relieved that Hopkinton taxpayers wouldn’t be footing the bill for the project.

It’s all grant money. That’s the greatest thing about it,” he said. “It’s a sad day, but a little bit of progress. It’s a long time coming. The council worked on this for years.”

Sharon Davis added, “I’m glad it’s finally getting done.”

Rosso, who attended the old school, said he understood why many residents were sad to see it go.
“I personally understand the emotional connection that many residents have to the building,” he said. “It was an iconic building, but ultimately, the kids’ safety, the children’s wellbeing was what led to their determination in 2018.”

The federal funds will cover the entire cost of the demolition.

“There’s no taxpayer match,” Rosso said. “This project’s supposed to cost us around $250,000 for the demolition, which will leave us enough money to finish the site.”

Rosso said the town plans to honor the 1904 school with a green space on the site where it had stood.
“This space will include a gazebo, [the] original weathervane and a memorial plaque, which will serve as a lasting tribute, preserving its memory for future generations,” he said.

The original school bell has also been preserved.

Bob Perrin, who said he lived nearby, watched as fragments of the old school were dropped by a bulldozer into a waiting dump truck. Perrin has a family connection to the school, through his great - grandfather, Charles Eccleston.

“My great - grandfather, that was one of the first buildings that he built,” he said.