National Register of Historic Places

Modern Times School

Brentwood, Suffolk County, New York
Listed
December 23, 1994
Type
Building
Period
Modern
Ref No.
94001478

About this property

Modern Times School, also known as District 12 School and Brentwood School, is a historic school building located at Brentwood in Suffolk County, New York. The school building was built in 1857 by the utopian community of Modern Times and was originally a small, one story, frame octagonal building sheathed in board and batten siding and surmounted by a hipped roof with octagonal cupola. It featured a rectangular projecting entrance portico surmounted by a gable roof. It has been moved twice, altered, and suffered significant deterioration. It was converted for residential use in 1907 to make room for a larger schoolhouse and was moved to its present site in 1989. The building is one of the few surviving structures of the village of Modern Times, which was founded by reformers Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews as an experimental community in the nineteenth century. The village based itself on individual freedom and was known for its lack of jail, police, judge or money. The village lasted 13 years before renaming itself "Brentwood" to rid itself of bad connotations. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. In 2016, the Brentwood Historical Society funded its renovation and preservation. The building's restoration was expected for completion in late 2023. After several false starts, the Brentwood Union Free School District funded its restoration, estimated at around $500,000, with $144,000 coming from grants via the historical society and the rest coming from the district's general fund. Media related to Modern Times School (Brentwood, New York) at Wikimedia Commons

Location

Brentwood, Suffolk County, New York
40.77666, -73.25392

Categories

SOCIAL HISTORYEDUCATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

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US Post Office-Bay Shore
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3.7 mi

Nearby Battles

Raid on Fort Slongo (Fort Salonga)
1781Revolutionary War
11.7 mi
Battle of Setauket Aug 22 1777
1777Revolutionary War
12.2 mi
Raid on Setauket
1777Revolutionary War
13.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Modern Times School listed on the National Register?

Modern Times School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 1994.

What type of historic resource is Modern Times School?

Modern Times School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Modern Times School?

The period of significance for Modern Times School is recorded as the modern era.

Can I research the history near Modern Times School?

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