The New Fairfield Historical Society is honored to maintain the West Centre School aka "The Little Red Schoolhouse" as a Living History Museum in New Fairfield, CT. Since 1970 the one-room schoolhouse has been open for educational purposes and to benefit the public.
West Centre School was one of seven one-room schoolhouses built in New Fairfield. Estimates suggest that West Centre School was built in the early 1850s as the building appears on a 1852 map of New Fairfield. The building is constructed entirely of wood and situated on a stone and mortar foundation. The school was heated by a single wood stove with either coal or wood. Lamps were used to light the school until electricity became available. When the town built Consolidated School in 1941, all the one-room schools were decommissioned. The West Centre School was then used as a carpentry shop for boys. The other six one-room schoolhouses were turned into residences.