In the late 1980’s, three friends – Eleanor Elbers, Kathy Torrey, and Kathleen Vetter– began offering preschool classes in their homes. They shared a vision of a community place for gathering, growing, and learning. In 1991, they founded the Orchard School in Eleanor’s home and an apartment above a woodworking shed. They had 33 students ages 3-5 coming in from 15 villages and towns, as the region had no early education within 17 miles. In 1993, after incorporating as a non-profit, the Orchard School began plans for the construction of a 2,500 square foot building. The following summer, over 350 volunteers from near and far contributed more than 3,000 hours of labor. In September, 1994 the Orchard School opened in its new building.

Over the course of the next 22 years, the spirit of goodwill and cooperation that had formed the foundation of the school and the building continued, as close to 2,000 children and their families were nurtured in preschool, kindergarten, summer camp, and school vacation camps.

Regular preschool and kindergarten programming came to an end in 2016, making way for The Center to be used in many other ways.