"The Franklin School was built in 1902 on Nahant Street to replace the wooden schoolhouse at the intersection of Nahant and Franklin Streets. The eight-room brick school, designed by Harland A. Perkins, was built at the northwest corner of Nahant and Traverse Streets on land that the Town purchased along with a portion of an adjoining lot that they 'deemed necessary' for the project. The cost to build the school and purchase the land was $30,000, which the Town voted to pay in sums of $1,500 per year for 20 years. Construction began in 1901 and the school as ready for the first day of school on September 8, 1902. The Town originally appropriated $1,000 to furnish the school, which provided 42 desks and chairs for each of they five rooms they intended to use on opening day, for a total of 210 seats. When approximately 240 students arrived at the school, Superintendent Thompson when 'hustling about the town hunting up surplus seats and desks in other school houses, borrowed more where he could get them and set men to work furnishing a sixth room.' Miss McCormick, a resident of Boston and a teacher at the Greenwood School was telegraphed at her home to take charge of the extra room at the new school. She was able to do so, as the Greenwood School as not yet completed by opening day. The Superintendent and his workers stayed on the job until dark and resumed their work at 5 a.m. to ensure that the sixth classroom was ready for the second day of school. The buildings was enlarged in 1926 which doubled its room capacity." Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2015 Photo courtesy of Nancy Bertrand and Wakefield Un-Common Antiques and Collectibles
