1761: Obtuse & Ironworks School

Obtuse School is located on Obtuse Road, South. In 1761 this school was one of the four districts in the Parish of Newbury. It is thought that at this time, the students were meeting in private homes.

In 1869, the Obtuse District applied for a new building. It was voted to locate the new school 40 square rods near and south of where the old school stood. When the Consolidated School was built, this school was sold and became a private home.

There were two schools in the Ironworks District. The first was the East Ironworks School and was located on the triangle at Lion’s Park corner of Whisconier Road and Farview Road. Joseph Ruggles donated land for this school in 1745. In 1846 a vote was taken to divide the Ironworks district into two schools. The dividing line was the Still River. The school on the west side of the river would be called the West Ironworks and was built on Station Road.

In 1906, the East Ironworks School was taken down and these students joined with the students of the West Ironworks School. When the residents of Brookfield began the quest to close the one-room schools, it was voted down time after time. In 1936 the roof caved in on Ironworks School. No one was in the building at the time. When this happened, the town voted to build the Consolidated School. This is now called Center School. This Ironworks School building is just behind the Mobil Gas Station and is now a private home.