A Car and Truck Show on June 8 at the German Flatts Town Park will benefit the project to restore the 1840s schoolhouse at the park. The schoolhouse was moved from Shoemaker Hill to the town park in 2011. Photo by Donna Thompson
By Donna Thompson
MOHAWK – The project to restore the 1840s one-room schoolhouse at the German Flatts Town Park will be getting a boost with a car and truck show and chicken barbecue Saturday, June 8.
The exterior of the schoolhouse has a fresh look and town officials are seeking funding to complete the project including the restoration of the interior of the building.
The car and truck show is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the park, located at 555 State Route 5S, two miles east of Mohawk, next to the Fort Herkimer Church. The event is free and open to the public. J&D Entertainment will provide DJ service. There will be a 50-50 raffle as well as door prizes and trophies. A Brooks Chicken Barbecue will run from noon until sold out. Tickets for the barbecue are $15 each. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and beverages will also be available for sale during the event.
Registration opens at 9 a.m. with a $5 entry fee for showing a vehicle.
Breakfast sandwiches will also be available early in the day, according to German Flatts Town Supervisor Peter Rovazzi.
The rain date for the car and truck show is Sunday, June 9, but the barbecue will be held on Saturday only.
The schoolhouse was brought to the town park from its location on Shoemaker Road in December of 2011, and the following year, it was lifted onto a new foundation that had been constructed for it. Some work has been done in the years since.
“Over the course of time, the roof has been redone, and the flooring joists have been completely redone,” said Rovazzi.
It was just in the past year that the building lost its rough appearance when cedar siding was installed and windows restored.
“The windows were done by a professional restorer,” said Rovazzi, adding, “Everything is being done under restoration guidelines.”
A sliding barn door that had been installed in the rear of the building had to be removed and new windows and sashes put in.
While the appearance of the building’s exterior is greatly improved, there is still work to be done there including stonework to be added and work on the door.
And then there’s the interior, which is a work in progress. Water had been getting into the building for years, causing damage to the ceiling, walls, trim and wainscoting, said Rovazzi.
Restoration of the crown molding involved taking the best piece and making replacement pieces identical to the shape of the original.
The tongue and groove flooring was largely intact, he said, but some had to be replaced. “We filled in with new tongue and groove flooring, especially in the entryway.”
Veteran contractors were needed for the project, said Rovazzi. “We had to find contractors who were most skilled in this type of work. Numerous contractors looked at it and walked away. It required a lot of customization; nothing was really straight.”
Finishing the basement and adding lighting there is another part of the project that remains unfinished.
Grant money the town received for the school and improvements to the town park has helped fund the work done so far, with the town using in-kind services for part of the required 25% match, but more funds are needed to meet the goal of restoring the schoolhouse to its 19th-century appearance.
The town is seeking additional grant funding, Rovazzi said, and all proceeds from the June 8 car and truck show will go toward the project. Once completed, the schoolhouse will be available to schools for educational purposes and open during special events and by appointment, he said.
In addition to raising money for the schoolhouse restoration, Rovazzi hopes the event will draw attention to the town park, which has a large community building that can be rented for parties and special events and a gazebo. The parking lot has been paved, and work is underway to complete a restroom in the community center that will be accessible from the outdoors for the convenience of people using the park and the canalway trail that runs through it or visiting the cemetery at the Fort Herkimer Church next door.
The schoolhouse, which is labeled School No. 9 on a mid-19th century atlas map of the town of German Flatts, stood at the intersection of Shoemaker and Heath roads, where it served as a schoolhouse for local children from the 1840s until the late 1930s, when consolidation brought children from this and other rural schools to Mohawk.
The building was used for storage for a time, and the Reardon family eventually donated it to the town of German Flatts. Then-Supervisor Frank Spatto credited Peter Vercz with preparing the schoolhouse to be moved. The 23-foot-wide building was lifted onto a trailer and moved in one piece down Shoemaker Hill to Griffin Road and onto Route 5S as Time Warner Cable and Verizon employees worked to raise power lines so the 26-foot-high structure could pass beneath.
