Vermont Industrial School Explained

Vermont Industrial School
Groundbreaking Date:1825, 1874
Status:Repurposed
Location:Vergennes, Vermont
Native Name:Vermont Reform School
Location Country:United States
Opened Date:1874
Destruction Date:-->
Former Names:Champlain Arsenal (1826-1872)
Alternate Names:Vermont Reform School (1874-1900)
The Weeks School (1937-1979)
Renovation Date:1874, 1924, 1979
Cost:$49,000
($ in dollars)
Building Type:Institutional
Owner:State of Vermont
Current Tenants:Northlands Job Corps Academy
Closing Date:1979
Material:Foundation-Stone, Exterior-Brick, Roof-Slate
Known For:Heavy usage of Eugenics practices

The Vermont Industrial School, which became the Weeks School, was a publicly funded reform school located along Otter Creek in Vergennes, Vermont. Sold to the State of Vermont by the United States Department of War in 1873, the grounds and a couple of remaining buildings were part of the Champlain Arsenal which had been vacated by the United States Army in 1872. The industrial school moved to the Vergennes site in 1874[1] from Waterbury following a fire that engulfed their previous school. In 1937, the name was changed to the Weeks School to memorialize John E. Weeks, the 61st Governor of Vermont and former trustee of the school.[2] The Weeks School was closed in 1979 due to nationwide deinstitutionalisation. The campus was soon leased to the United States Department of Labor and the Northlands Job Corps Academy opened, still occupying the buildings today. Two buildings of particular historic value are the stone Arsenal building and the brick Fairbanks building, both part of the Champlain Arsenal and were constructed in 1825.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: What is Eugenics?: Eugenics Project: A Documentary History, UVM. 2020-09-04. www.uvm.edu.
  2. Book: John J. Duffy, Ralph H. Orth, Samuel B. Hand. The Vermont Encyclopedia. University Press of New England. 2003. 9781584650867. 300, 314, 315.
  3. Web site: LandWorks and DuBois & King. September 18, 2015. A Master Plan for the State of Vermont Otter Creek Campus and Lands in Vergennes and Ferrisburgh.