Ludlow Graded School

The former Ludlow Graded School building stands on the south side of High Street, a short way west of the Ludlow village green. It is set between the former Black River Academy building (now a local history museum), and the Ludlow Baptist Church, separated from the road by the parking lot it shares with the academy building. It is a roughly L-shaped 2-1/2 story wood-frame structure, with a gabled main section facing toward the street and a cross-gabled ell extending to the east. In the crook of the L is the building's most prominent feature, a three-story square tower topped by a truncated hip roof with railing above. The main entrance is in the front of this tower, sheltered by a porch with a complex combination of shed and gabled roofs and supported by square posts. The main facade has pilastered corners and a central three-part window topped by a gabled pediment; most of the other building windows are sash.[2]

The school was built in 1871-72, originally with a 1-1/2 story ell. The ell was raised to its present size in 1903. The tower is a replacement of an original tower, which featured a Second Empire-style mansard roof with cresting. The school was built on the first site of the Black River Academy, which burned in 1844, and replaced a district school (located elsewhere) that was also destroyed by fire. This school served the local community until 1938, when a new school was opened on the village outskirts. In the late 1970s, the building was adapted for use as a social services center.[2] It is owned by the Black River Historical Society, which also owns the academy building.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Windsor County, Vermont