Mary Sproat's Green, 1870s

The earliest known image of the 1871 Green School is a painting by Middleborough artist Mary Sproat (1837-1888) formerly in the collection of Attorney George Decas of Middleborough.  Sproat's depiction of the Green School was probably completed in the 1870s or early 1880s and captures not only the newly-built schoolhouse, but the neighboring Barton House and barn as well.  The 13 x 21 inch oil on canvas painting depicts the three structures aligned along the south side of what was once a portion of the Training or Lower Green at Middleborough with East Main Street conspicuous as the roadway in the foreground.   The school is clearly recognizable with its twin entrances (one for boys, one for girls), central window and triangular louvered vent in the gable peak.  Three sides of the schoolyard are fenced.  Next to the school is the home which still stands at 247 East Main Street.  The house was most likely built following January 1870 at which time the land was purchased by Elvira Barton of Providence, Rhode Island, from William Davis of Middleborough.  Mrs. Barton was the wife of Ernest J. F. Barton and the mother of Ernest F. Barton, both of whom were engaged as fresco painters.  The house was later owned by Henry L. Thomas (1897-1906), Walter C. Thomas (1906-43) and Clarence E. Benson (1943-45).  The barn, prominently located at the center of the picture, is no longer extant.  It is possible that the radical changes which transformed the south side of the Green in the early 1870s prompted Miss Sproat to document them on canvas.