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| Contents from inside of the Maitland School lay scattered on the ground outside, below the broken windows from where they were thrown. Contributed |
116-year-old Maitland School marked by vandals
HOT SPRINGS – Built in 1892, the Maitland School has served not only as a schoolhouse, but also the meeting place, church, dance hall and geographic marker for residents of the Cascade area of central Fall River County.
“It was the community place to meet,” said Bernice Landers, who now owns the building and property where the schoolhouse is located. “It’s just such a landmark for the people around here. We use it as a marker.”
On the night of Thursday, May 29, the schoolhouse was marked by vandals who committed several thousands of dollars damage to the historic site.
“There’s just not too many of these country school houses around anymore,” said Landers. “Whoever did this had no idea what they were destroying and what a historical building it is. I was just really disgusted when I saw it. It just makes no sense.”
Landers said three generations of her family attended school in the building, which closed its doors in the mid-1980s after educating rural students through the 8th grade for nearly a century. Bernice’s husband Ralph attended school at Maitland, as did his father Abraham, as well as Bernice and Ralph’s two sons Alan and Dan.
After the school was closed, the Cascade Volunteer Fire Department used the building as their headquarters for a number of years, until a new firehouse was built closer to Hot Springs along Hwy 71.
Housed in the school at the time of the vandalism last month, were a few radios and some equipment of the fire department, but also a number of old books, desks and bookcases, much of which had been a part of the school for its near 120-year history.
According to Fall River County Sheriff Deputy Rich Mraz, at least two suspects broke in through the front door of the schoolhouse and proceeded to break out nearly all of the windows in the school, from the inside out.
They threw books and chairs, and at least one of the fire department’s radios, out through the windows. According to Landers, a total of 14 windows and window frames were destroyed, leaving only a few untouched panes of glass still intact.
Last week, Bernice began the arduous task of beginning to clean things up and going through what was left to salvage.
“What these people did was pretty grotesque,” said Fall River County Sheriff Jeff Tarrell, whose department is investigating the incident.
While there has not been a lot of other reported vandalism in the county as of late, Deputy Mraz did say they are investigating a number of burglaries.
“Oftentimes these things end up being related some way or another,” he said.
A reward fund has been established and anyone interested in contributing additional money may do so by contacting the Sheriff’s Department.
Currently, a $600 reward is being offered for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible. To report such information, please call the Sheriff’s office at 745-4444 or dispatch at 745-5155. Names of those whom submit the information will be kept secret within the department.