SGC-WH-STI-038 · Research edition September 12, 2026
561 Main Street is the address in the 2025 city notice; the 2019 city notice used 575 Main Street, and the 1940 directory used West Main Street without a number. Stiles is the verified spelling; Styles is retained only as an alias.
The story in pictures
Edgar C. Stiles School in the 1940 school directory
1940
Printed page 67 continues the school directory and identifies Edgar C. Stiles School on West Main Street.
Edgar C. Stiles School bears the name of the superintendent who guided West Haven’s schools through decades of expansion. The 1940 town history says Stiles arrived from the Seymour schools in June 1898 and remained superintendent until his death in 1933. It dates the opening of his namesake school on West Main Street to September 1931. This is the strongest located statement of an opening month. The city’s later description of construction in 1930 can coexist with a 1931 opening; the dates refer to different events. [WH-STI-010][WH-STI-011][WH-STI-009]
The school was part of the building program that followed district consolidation. In 1926 the town’s separate school districts were brought together under the Board of Education, and the 1940 account describes new buildings and enlarged facilities in the succeeding years. The detail makes the building more than an architectural shell. It records how shared sound and communication were built into the daily operation of the school. [WH-STI-010][WH-STI-011]
A two-part local history column adds context to the namesake. Stiles grew up in Hartford, graduated from Yale in 1886, and held principalships before coming to West Haven. The later installment describes his work with the Village Improvement Association, the establishment of a public library, and the New Haven Bird Club. It specifically notes that the school was built and dedicated while he was still alive and serving as superintendent. His death on August 29, 1933 therefore provides another reason to question the incidental 1935 date in a later survey of a different school. [WH-STI-005][WH-STI-004][WH-STI-012]
That recollection should be read as one pupil’s memory, not as a complete administrative record. A Stiles group photograph labeled 1958 survives in the Historical Society’s online gallery. Together the recollection and the photograph offer promising paths toward the ordinary experience of teachers and pupils, though the photograph still needs permission before it can be reproduced here. [WH-STI-004][WH-STI-003]
City notices published in both 2019 and 2025 state that Stiles closed in 2004. Some newspaper reporting instead gives 2010; the city’s repeated date is used here with that discrepancy disclosed. The May 2025 city notice records a purchase-and-sale agreement to convert the former school at 561 Main Street into about thirty apartments. This establishes an agreement and an intended reuse, not completed construction or an occupied apartment building. The collection keeps the school’s educational life distinct from later proposals for its property. [WH-STI-009][WH-STI-007][WH-STI-008]
That feature belongs beside the building’s opening and the superintendent’s biography because it records how communication entered everyday education. A pupil’s later memory of double sessions supplies a different perspective on space and time. Neither account should stand for every pupil or every year. Later closure reports and an apartment-conversion agreement form a property chapter whose dates must remain separate from actual completed reuse. [WH-STI-010][WH-STI-011][WH-STI-009]
Key dates
1898-06 — Edgar C. Stiles became superintendent of West Haven schools. WH-STI-011
1930 — Building construction date reported by the city in 2025. WH-STI-009
1931-09 — Edgar C. Stiles School opened. WH-STI-010
1933-08-29 — Namesake Edgar C. Stiles died. WH-STI-005
1958 — A class photograph and published classroom recollection document school life. WH-STI-003
2004 — Closure year repeatedly stated by the city; some newspaper accounts conflict. WH-STI-009
2025-05-28 — Mayor signed a purchase-and-sale agreement for an intended apartment conversion. WH-STI-009
A closer look at the surviving record
Listed among the town’s schools
The 1940 directory places Edgar C. Stiles School on West Main Street. Its opening is described on the preceding education page, reproduced in the Washington collection.
The original map key identifies Stiles School as landmark 17. The companion map is preserved in the Washington collection so the numbering can be read in context.
Includes source text where acquired. Source websites require an internet connection. OCR may contain errors; verify names and dates against the scan.
14 catalog entries
No matching items. Try fewer words or another spelling.
WH-STI-001 · Historical documents · 1940
Edgar C. Stiles School in the 1940 school directory
Printed page 67 continues the school directory and identifies Edgar C. Stiles School on West Main Street.
Public domain in the United States: repository states that copyright was not renewed, citing the Stanford renewal database. No separate copyright notice appears on the selected plate. Full printed page retained. Scan quality reflects the photocopied source; OCR may contain errors.
History of West Haven, Connecticut (1940)
PDF page 187
Source: https://archive.org/download/historyofwesthav00unse/historyofwesthav00unse.pdf#page=187
EDUCATION
Edgar C. Stiles School
Forest Street School
25
First Avenue School
840
Thompson School
165
St. Lawrence School
High School
West Main Street
Forest Street at Orange Avenue
First Avenue at Dana Street
Richards Street—east of Campbell Avenue
Main Street at Union Avenue (Parochial)
Main Street—east of Washington Avenue
Parochial School Established
Through the efforts of Father Jeremiah Curtin, a 12-room grade school,
at Main Street near Union Avenue, was erected in 1917 by St. Eawrence’s
Roman Catholic Parish. This building, an eight-grade school, has a seating
capacity of 420 pupils. The Reverend Arthur C. Cavanaugh is now (1938)
principal of the school.
Private Schools
The Seaside Male Seminary, a preparatory school, operated from 1859 to
1878. It was organized by R. Quincy Brown and taken over, in 1866, by Luther
H. Northrup. Under the latter’s guidance, many foreign pupils were enrolled
from Cuba, Chile, Peru, and China, and the seminary established a reputation
for the instruction of Orientals.
Among the Chinese students prepared for Yale at this school was Tatotai Jeme
Tienyow, later famous as the engineer of the Peking Hsiang Railroad, the
first railroad to be built entirely by Chinese. Other Chinese graduates include Lo
Kocksui, who became an engineer with the Ning Hsiang Railroad in Huan, and
Owyong King, who, in 1903, was Chinese Vice-Consul in San Francisco.
A rare catalog of the seminary states that “Students disciplined here are
admirably qualified for Farm, Work Shop, Sales Room, Counting House, Ship¬
ping Office or the more classical institutions”.
The seminary was disbanded in 1878 and the building was used as a board¬
ing house for summer visitors at the shore. It was torn down in 1923.
The Commercial and Classical Boarding and Day School for boys, at 415
Savin Avenue, was conducted by W. F. Thomas from about 1855 until the late
1870’s, when the Thomas family moved from West Haven to Ohio.
According to legend, Mr. Thomas always carried a carpet bag for his books,
papers, and various articles, and was known as “Carpet Bag Thomas”. He was
assisted by his wife in conducting the school.
Among well-known West Haveners who attended the school were the late
E. E. Bradley, Cyrus Tuttle, and Dennis A. Kimberly, who was burgess of the
Borough of West Haven from 1888 to 1891.
The Phelps Nursery School, in the Phelps Homestead at Campbell Avenue
and Elm Street, has been conducted since 1934 by Miss Marjorie Phelps. Pupils
ranging in age from two-and-one-half to four-and-one-half years, are taught in¬
structive games, co-operation, and work that prepares them for entrance to kin¬
dergarten. 'Fhe school is open from September to June.
67
Credit: Writers’ Program (U.S.), Connecticut, History of West Haven, Connecticut (Church Press, 1940); Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center / Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-001, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-002 · Maps & plans · 1940
1940 town map key, including Stiles School
Original numbered landmark list; Stiles School is number 17. Read with the companion 1940 town map.
Public domain in the United States: repository states that copyright was not renewed, citing the Stanford renewal database. No separate copyright notice appears on the selected plate. Full printed page retained. Scan quality reflects the photocopied source; OCR may contain errors.
History of West Haven, Connecticut (1940)
PDF page 243
Source: https://archive.org/download/historyofwesthav00unse/historyofwesthav00unse.pdf#page=243
1. Burwell Heights
2. Lincoln School
3. Adjutant Campbell Monument
4. New Haven County Home
5. Campbell Avenue School
6. Union Congregational Church
7. Forest School and Allingtown Branch Library
8. Park Theatre
9. Allingtown Fire Dept.
10. Ailing House
11. St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church
12. First Averse School
13. William Wirt Winchester Hospital
14. North End Hose Company
15. Richard Thomas House
16. Nehemiah Smith House
17. Stiles School
18. Stevens House
19. Humpreville—Clark—-Ward House
20. Lutheran Church
21. Methodist Episcopal Home for the Aged
22. Johnson—Austin House
23. Site of 1'irst Log House in West Haven
24. Second Avenue Hook and Ladder Company
25. Methodist Episcopal Church
26. West Haven Public Library
27. Rivoli I heatre
28. U. S. Post Office
29. First National Bank, West Haven Branch
30. Baptist Church
31. Center 1 lose Company
32.
a 3.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59
Town Hall
Mallory—Smith House
Union School
West Haven High School
St. Lawrence’s Roman Catholic School
St. Lawrence’s Roman Catholic Church
Bayview Park
Cameo Theatre
World War Memorial
First Congregational Church
Christ Episcopal Church
Washington School
Noble School ,
St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church
Salvation Army
Savin Rock Hose Company
Hill's Homestead
Plaque Designating the Spot of Tryon s Landing
Savin Rock
Thompson School
Capt.‘ John Ward House
Abbott Park
West Shore Fire Dept.
Colonial Park School and Prospect Beach Libi.. )
(Branch of West Haven Library)
Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church
Samuel Clark House
Menvin-Hubbard House
Mill
Credit: Writers’ Program (U.S.), Connecticut, History of West Haven, Connecticut (Church Press, 1940); Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center / Internet Archive. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-002, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-003 · Sources & research leads · 1958
Stiles School class photograph, 1958
Authentic group photograph labeled Stiles School, 1958 by the Historical Society.
No reuse license established. Direct image: https://whhistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/imported_from_media_libray/Stiles_School_1958.jpg External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-003, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-004 · Sources & research leads · 2017-09-13
Classroom recollection and namesake biography, part I
Dan Shine recalls a 1958 first-grade afternoon session and traces Stiles’s early career.
Source link only; no reuse permission established. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-004, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-005 · Sources & research leads · 2017-09-20
Namesake biography, part II
Local historical account of Stiles’s civic activity and the school’s dedication during his lifetime; includes a school image.
Source link only; no reuse permission established. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-005, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-006 · Sources & research leads · 2018-11-28
City redevelopment solicitation
Original 2018–2019 municipal procurement record, with linked bid documents.
Public record access does not alone establish a photo license. Useful for building plans, parcel identity and condition history. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-006, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-007 · Sources & research leads · 2019-05-29
2019 city notice and address variant
Earlier redevelopment proposal uses 575 Main Street and reports 2004 closure.
Historical proposal, not a completed sale or present building status. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-007, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-008 · Sources & research leads · 2025-03-11
Closure-date conflict in newspaper reporting
March 2025 report describes a council member recalling a 2010 school-board closure vote; city notices repeatedly give 2004.
A February 2025 newspaper article separately describes 2004 closure and 2010 city acquisition. Retrieve school-board minutes before resolving these conflicting accounts. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-008, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-009 · Sources & research leads · Undated
Coverage gaps
No cleared Stiles classroom photograph or building exterior was located; no original dedication program or school-board closure minute was retrieved.
Use September 1931 opening and city-reported 2004 closure with noted source conflicts. Do not call the proposed apartment conversion complete. External source reference; the complete source is not reproduced in this download.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-009, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-010 · Sources & research leads · Source consulted September 2026
Supporting source: archive.org
Supporting source for the collection history and chronology.
External source; consult the original publication for its full context.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-010, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-011 · Sources & research leads · Source consulted September 2026
Supporting source: archive.org
Supporting source for the collection history and chronology.
External source; consult the original publication for its full context.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-011, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
WH-STI-012 · Sources & research leads · Source consulted September 2026
Supporting source: npgallery.nps.gov
Supporting source for the collection history and chronology.
External source; consult the original publication for its full context.
Credit: Original publisher or holding institution, linked at source. Cite SGC SGC-WH-STI-038, WH-STI-012, source title, page and URL; accessed 2026-09-08.
ED-L-STI-ADD001 · Photographs · 1941 according to file name; date not independently confirmed
Historic exterior of Edgar C. Stiles School
The former Stiles School's broad facade illustrates its role as a neighborhood landmark.
Available at the linked repository; image or full record is not included in this download. Article September 20, 2017. Do not use that as photograph date. Existing source expansion, distinct from the 1958 class portrait. Reuse: Link only; historical photographer and reproduction permission unverified.