One of Pittsfield's earliest schools stood on a spot about 100 feet out in the river. In 1826, voters at Town Meeting granted mill owner James Joy permission to build a bigger dam, creating a much larger mill pond. The school was then moved farther back from the river and later became the original rectory of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Master Odiorne taught there for many years, and his pupils included John Swett, the noted California educator, and Samuel G. Drake, one of the country's first antiquarians.