The Red Brick School House
In 2019 ALARM Robotics team set up shop in the Red Brick School house in Franklin Massachusetts. The building was built in 1833 to replace an existing wooden schoolhouse, and gets its name from its iconic exterior, made up of bricks that were imported from Boston via Oxen.
​
​

The original wooden building was constructed after the influential Reverend Nathanael Emmons took a 900 year lease on the land, both of which were taken over by the town authorities. During this time the school was referred to as “the school at the crossroad” as it was built on the corner of Maple Street and Main street which is now Lincoln Street. The building was also used as a Children’s Sunday-school by the Congregational church.
Written by, Claire Payne
February, 2025
​

1941, Library of Congress
2011, Robert Magina, Flickr
By 1835 the building was being used by a man named Mortimer Blake, to run a high school. Which was popular in the community, so popular it had to be moved to a larger building because, despite the cost to go being 25-35 cents per week, it was overflowing with students. During the Great Depression, a period of worldwide economic struggle lasting from 1929 to 1939, The administration attempted to shut down the school to save on costs. An attempt that was unsuccessful as Townspeople from across Franklin, Rallied against it. The school was almost closed again in 1959, when the building was declared unsafe. The building was instead able to be refurbished with funds from Franklin Residents and proceeds from selling six-inch square ceramic tiles with a depiction of the school on the front and a history of the school on the back. In 1976 Red Brick school was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places.
During the Great Depression, a period of worldwide economic struggle lasting from 1929 to 1939, The administration attempted to shut down the school to save on costs. An attempt that was unsuccessful as Townspeople from across Franklin, Rallied against it. The school was almost closed again in 1959, when the building was declared unsafe. The building was instead able to be refurbished with funds from Franklin Residents and proceeds from selling six-inch square ceramic tiles with a depiction of the school on the front and a history of the school on the back. In 1976 Red Brick school was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places.
​
After 175 long years of regular use, in 2008 The Red Brick school, which had been being used as a kindergarten for Franklin's Public School System, was deemed to be "surplus" by the Franklin School Department. Meaning The town had enough other school buildings to handle the town’s school population and did not need to use the limited single room schoolhouse for education. Because of this The school committee voted to close the school and transfer the control of the building to the town of Franklin. For a brief period after The building was incorporated in the educational offerings of The Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School (BFCCPS/Charter). The ALARM robotics team has taken over the building’s tradition of public education. Hosting many outreach events to get the next generation interested in Robotics and Coding
References
-
"Red Brick School (Massachusetts)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_Brick_School_(Massachusetts)&oldid=1193454178 (accessed February 11, 2025).​
-
"Timeline of Franklin History" Franklin Historical Museum, https://www.franklinmuseum1778.com/timeline-of-franklin-history (accessed February 11, 2025)
​
The Franklin Public Library
The ALARM Robotics team often works with the Amazing staff of the Franklin Public Library to host events and do community outreach at the library.
Written by, Claire Payne
February, 2025
​

The Franklin Public Library, Jan. 19, 2023. Daily News And Wicked Local Staff Photo/Art lllman
The Franklin Public Library finds its roots all the way back to the beginning of the United States of America, with one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. In 1778 The bill requested the incorporation of a town about 30 miles southwest of Boston, named the town Exeter but somewhere along the way it was switched to Franklin, after Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Who was later approached, told about the honor bestowed upon him and asked if he wanted to contribute something to the newly formed town. The town requested he give them a bell for the town’s church steeple, as bells were used to gather citizens. Instead, with the belief that “sense is preferable to sound”, Franklin donated books and asked for them to be used to create a library. In total, with the help of Dr. Richard Price, he sent 116 volumes with topics such as government, philosophy, and religion. When they arrived, a controversy was sparked in the town about who should be allowed to use them. On November 20th, 1790, The nation's first public library was born as those attending Franklin's town meeting voted to lend the books to all Franklin inhabitants free of charge.
When the library was first established, the books were stored in Franklin’s meeting house. In 1905, The Franklin Library gained a permanent residence, which was a gift from the Ray family. The Ray Family went further, establishing the Ray memorial in the same year to provide for and maintain the building, which was also the Ray Memorial building. During this time the Franklin Library Association ran the library and would until 1981 when the Franklin Public Library became a department of the town of Franklin. The building underwent extensive restorations for two years (1987-1989), to maintain the original beauty of the classical Greek structure and to add a children's wing. All 116 volumes donated by Benjamin Franklin back in the 1700’s are on display inside the library.
References
-
​“It Happens Here: Franklin The Home Of The First Public Library In America.” 2021. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/franklin-massachusetts-first-public-library-in-america-it-happens-here-wbz-tv/. (accessed February 11, 2025)
-
"Franklin Public Library" Atlas Obscura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/franklin-public-library (accessed February 11, 2025)
-
"Library History" Town of Franklin Massachusetts, https://www.franklinma.gov/238/Library-History (accessed February 11, 2025)
​