The Eliot School

As most of you know, Nick and I have been hard at work on reupholstering chairs at our weekly class at the Eliot School in Jamaica Plain.


In fact, look for our silly mugs up on their website ;)


We love the Eliot School. They offer a ton of great classes, and I kind of wish I could take them all (just to name a few: sewing, soap-making, woodworking, inlaying and veneer, furniture-finishing, drawing, painting, writing, and photography).


Aside from that, the school has so much history.... eh hem, Lauren, if I may... (this is now Nick writing)


Sorry to interrupt Lauren's prose, but I have to speak to all my history lovers out there. Lauren sometimes gets tired when I talk about this stuff, but she's coming around to lovin' it.


The Eliot School is located in Jamaica Plain, Boston, which is an incredibly historic American town. Jamaica Plain was founded in the mid-seventeenth century by some English dudes. In 1689, one of those English dudes, by the name of John Eliot, donated some of his farm land to a little-known school in Jamaica Plain. In return, the school was eventually named...well...Eliot School, obviously. The school's mission was to provide education for Puritan and Indian children. There's a whole bunch of history to this school, so I'll give you the link to catch up on it yourself.


But let's just think about the history of this area, and its relation to the Eliot School:


Boston was the city where the Revolutionary War began. The Eliot School was right in the thick of it, and had already been established for 100 years!

And when the war got really heated up, Joshua Loring, a British Naval Officer, was forced to flee his Jamaica Plain home and sail to England because of his Crown loyalties. Well, too bad for him, but his abandoned house still stands, and it is a stone's throw away from the Eliot School. (check it out here)


When the cities of America were becoming congested and polluted by the rise of the Industrial Age, Fredrick Law Olmstead, creator of NYC's Central Park, designed the Emerald Necklace to give the city of Boston a fresh and natural space. Olmstead was never satisfied with his Central Park creation; he was, however, satisfied with Boston's Emerald Necklace. Oh yes, and of course, the greenest part of this preserve runs right past the Eliot School.

The Eliot School is impressive in both its classes and its history. I strongly suggest you look into this school. Take some classes, check it out if you're an out-of-towner, or if you're feeling generous, donate to this national treasure. Trust me, it's worth it.