Stony Point Town Board Receives Update on Pyngyp School Restoration

BY MICHAEL RICONDA

Stony Point – At the most recent meeting of the Stony Point Town Board on May 28, Susan Filgueras of Stony Point Action Committee for the Environment (SPACE) gave an update on the ongoing renovations to restore the historic Pyngyp School on Route 210 and repurpose it as a community center.

“We still have a lot of work to go, but I wanted everybody to see where we are,” Filgueras said.

In 2011, it was announced that the school house, which was listed on both the state and national registries of historic places in 2011, was in need serious repairs, including work on the roof, siding, and floor. No end date has been set, but work has progressed steadily and constant improvements have been made since 2011.

Hence, Filgueras enlisted the aid of volunteers and donors to begin work on May 17, 2011. Filgueras esimtaed that the town will need about $75-100,000 to complete the project, but both public and private donors have continued to provide financial support.

“We have had very, very generous contributions” Filgueras said.

Since work began in 2011, volunteers have made significant strides, including repairing the leaking roof, a major structural concern. Renovators also contracted out to remove asbestos, removed a 1960s era fireplace, restored the school’s bell, replaced and repainted the siding its original color of white, added in period glass windows to accommodate State Historic Preservation Officer requirements, wired the building with electric lines and replaced the floor to repair damage from powder post beetles.

“In a little under two years, we have a brand new roof and a brand new floor from the foundation up,” Filgueras proudly announced.

Additional renovations include disability accommodations, removing and replacing the front and rear entries and adding cabinets, a kitchenette and a storage closet. New wood was milled at a location upstate and shipped down to Stony Point specifically for the project.

In addition, Stony Point resident and architect Carl Jones, whose parents attended the school, was announced to be the new steward of the building.

The single-room, two-door school house was built around 1854 and operated as a school until 1945, when it was converted into a community center. It has existed on maps of the area since 1852 and is architecturally unique in being the last single-room schoolhouses left in the area.

  Pyngyp school, Pyngyp School Restoration, Stony Point, Stony Point town board