Sharon, Vermont (#1) $136,900 Completed

At the turn of the twentieth century, 5,000 one-room schoolhouses operated throughout the New England countryside; today there are fewer than 15. Not included in that number is one we found for sale at the junction of Route 132 and the Beaver Meadow Road, nine miles out of Hanover. This one hasn't been operating since the 1950s, unless you count the years it was an antique shop. Today it's being redone into a three-bedroom home. Only the bell, a slate blackboard, and the memories will remain from its days as a place of learning. Work was in-progress when we stopped by, and it was clear that the seller wants to retain some of that old feeling. Much of the big room will stay intact, as will most of the exterior lines. Outside, the setting looks much as it must have: only two acres come with the building now but the trout stream still wanders through out back and the old Day Homestead is still over across the field. It's a pretty little valley. Two things we were sorry to see go: the old wood-burning stove was beyond saving, and the four-holer in the ell has given way to a combination kitchen/dining room.

Contact owner/broker Marcey Carver of Richardson Associates in Bradford, (802) 222-4765.

Talk about a classy history: this used to be a one-room schoolhouse.