Chester Historical Society
Orange County, New York
Our mission is to promote the rich heritage of the Village and Town of Chester, New York through the acquisition, restoration and preservation of its historical places, documents and recordings of oral history; provide educational programs for school children, community organizations and all those individuals interested in local folklore and history; and exhibit collections of artifacts, pictures, newspapers and recorded oral histories to the general public.
Visit the 1915 Erie Station, Chester’s Local History Museum Open 9 am - 1 pm Saturdays May - October
19 Winkler Place, Chester, NY 10918 (gps coordinates: 41.3626°, -74.2702°)
Chester Historical Society
Maple Ave School Exhibit
2020
Welcome one and all to our online Exhibit of the Maple Ave. School in Chester NY. The Historical Society put out a call to the Alumni of the Maple Avenue School, asking for pictures and items that have been saved from our school days and we have been very fortunate in all the items that have been shared with us. Memories from the opening of the Maple Avenue School in 1939 until the Chester Elementary School opening are shared here, as well as those years where the Chester High School encompassed the entire location.
Although we are disappointed that the exhibit can’t be displayed at the 1915 Erie Station this year we are happy to share with you some of what has been shared with us.
We will be displaying the entire exhibit in the Spring of 2021 and that exhibit will include the pictures you see here.
As you scroll through the documents and pictures we hope you will be filled with memories and good times.
So I invite you to take a look at the pictures of some of the Triumphs and some Tragedies; all are part of our history as Hambletonians.
Debby-Lu Vadala-Adams
President, Chester Historical Society
Note: Covid has delayed the in-person exhibit. When conditions allow, we plan to open the 1915 Erie Station Museum and this exhibit.
It is now May 7, 2022 and the Maple Ave Exhibit finialy has opened!
Maple Avenue School
(We are in the process of building this exhibit, so expect to see a series of changes to these pages.)
The School was built in 1935 under the Public Works Administration (PWA) replacing the 1906 School on University Heights (Oakland Ave.). It was retired upon the opening of the new Chester Academy on Hambletonian Ave. in 2004. Orange-Ulster BOCES uitilized the School until 2019. More details to follow.
Please contact us for corrections and/or to add to this exhibit: chester_historical@mac.com.
Maple Avenue School (former) – Chester NY
National Archives Record Group 135-SAR:
Prints: Photographs rejected for use in the Photographic Report to the President: “Survey of the Architecture of Completed Projects of the PWA, 1939”; Box 14: New York State; Folder 1: Schools. …
Construction Plans
Below is a copy of the “Clerk of the Works' original set of 17 plans for the Maple Avenue School prepared by Architect Robert R. Graham, Middletown New York, dated October 8, 1935.
