The Mount Vernon School is a two-story, two-room schoolhouse constructed in 1860. It played a vital role in the history of Chatham Township as a schoolhouse, community space, and municipal offices. From 1860 to 1929, the Mount Vernon School operated as a rural school for the children of the Long Hill section of Chatham Township. In 1929, Chatham Township decommissioned Mount Vernon and two other rural schools in favor of a larger, central school. Mount Vernon School is the only one of the three schools that remains in its original condition. The Board of Education sold the buildings at public auction where it was purchased by the Averett Family. Under their ownership during the 1930s and 40s, the school was used as a community center. In 1959, the Averett Family deeded the building back to Chatham Township for use as its the Town Hall. It remained the Town Hall until 1988 when the township offered the building to the Historical Society of the Township of Chatham. The Mount Vernon School, now called the Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum, opened in 1991 under the leadership of the Historical Society.   

The 2022 Trust grant will help fund exterior restoration.

For more information, visit: https://www.chathamtownshiphistoricalsociety.org/index.html