History 

David B. Moorehead, Executive Director
Herbert T. Schacht, Director Emeritus

Many residents of this region have little or no knowledge of the long and interesting history of the property occupied by the Waterford Country School in the Quaker Hill section of Waterford, or of the purpose and functioning of the school. The history of the school and the use of land over the last sixty-five years are linked closely with the Schacht family, many descendants of whom are currently residents of Waterford.

The school currently occupies a 350-acre campus, which is divided by Hunts Brook Road and also has Interstate 395 (the old Connecticut Turnpike) crossing a portion of the property. Approximately 70 acres, consisting of the main part of the school's campus facilities lies to the West of Hunts Brook Road, with a small frontage and the "back gate" located on Vauxhall Street Extension. The remainder of the campus lies to the East of Hunts Brook Road and, with the exception of buildings grouped near the road and on the "Children's Farm", consists primarily of undeveloped land, with limited access and very rough terrain. Approximately 40 acres lies to the east of I-395 with frontage on Miller's Pond.

Ettie and Henry Schacht founded the school, which was to become Waterford Country School, in 1922 in the Brooklyn section of New York City. Both were teachers in the New York Public Schools, but frustrated by the lack of programs for special needs children and desiring care for a family of her own, Ettie left public school teaching and started her own school "The Culture and Health School" operating out of her home. With pioneering vision and creative educational methods, the school outgrew their home and moved into new quarters and later became known as "The Buckingham School", named after the street on which it was located. Henry was also a noted professional character actor on the New York stage, Known as Henry Sharp. It was Henry's acting income which to a large extent supported the creation of the school and later the acquisition of the Connecticut property.

The Schacht's school for several years leased property in Far Rockway, New York from theater magnate Marcus Loew for a summer program in order to escape the heat of the city. In 1929, having outgrown the facilities of the Loew estate, the Josephson Farm in Waterford was purchased by the Schacht's and Ettie's sister and brother-in-law. It consisted of 500 acres of beautiful farmland, two very large old farmhouses (one built in 1760, the other in 1870), a dairy barn, a lovely stream called Hunt's Brook and a 70+ acre lake known as "Miller's Pond". Over the years the Schacht's purchased additional adjacent farms as they became available, bringing the land holdings of the family in Waterford to over 900 acres.

The newer of the farm house buildings had served as a country lodging resort from the time of it's construction until approximately the turn of the century. "Old timers" in the area have called how, during the era, many of the farms in this area provided a restful haven for "city folk" who wanted to relax in the beautiful surroundings of rural Southeastern Connecticut.

The Connecticut facilities were known as "CAMP CUHECA", a name not taken from an Indian heritage as many people assume, but standing for CUlture and HEalth CAmp. That name lives on today as the name of a lake on the property, created by a dam on Hunts Brook, and a cemetery association for a two acre cemetery, which dates back to the Revolutionary War Times, located entirely within the boundaries of the land now owned by the school. Over the years a number of cabins, camp buildings, farm and support facilities were added to the property and the facilities developed to the extent that in 1942 a year round boarding school known as "CUHECA COUNTRY SCHOOL" was possible. In 1947 a summer camp program known as "CAMP WATERFORD" was re-established and in the early 1950's the entire program took on the name "WATERFORD COUNTRY SCHOOL". Since that time, the school has thrived as a residential treatment center and special education programs for children and youth. It originally served children placed by their families, but over the years extended services to child welfare agencies that were seeking placements. During the 1950's - 70's the school had children from many state and countries, however since the early 80's all of the children have been from Connecticut.

The original name of the road on which the campus is located is "Fire Street", a name still used on the continuation of the road in the town of Montville. The school, however, serving impressionable and emotionally disturbed children, many of whom had been victims of fire, had concerns about being located on a road by that name. It petitioned the Town of Waterford in the late 1950's to change the name to "Hunts Brook Road", a more pleasant sounding address.

In 1968 the Buckingham School in New York was sold and the Schacht family, recognizing that the Connecticut school needed to take on a different structure in order to continue serving future generations of children, created a non-profit corporation with a community Board of Trustees in 1969 and transferred for a token amount the present campus, buildings, equipment, and programs to the new organization "WATERFORD COUNTRY SCHOOL, Inc.".

During the decade of the 1980's many of the old buildings were demolished and selected buildings were completely renovated. In 1989 a new residential neighborhood consisting of four new "cottage style" residences with a combined capacity of 60 students replaced old dormitories. In the fall of 1992, a new 12 bed emergency shelter for short-term placements was constructed on the East side of Hunts Brook Road.

Today the Waterford Country School is dedicated primarily to serving the needs of children and families from Southern Connecticut through a variety of programs including residential treatment, group homes, crisis intervention emergency shelter services, foster care homes in the community, day treatment and special education for children remaining in their own homes and a variety of educational and therapeutic programs offered to community schools and organizations. The "Children's Farm" is a unique feature used for educational, recreational, and therapeutic purposes. The school's property and facilities are also shared extensively for recreational and educational activities with area schools, scouts, churches, and other organizations. Today Waterford Country School, whose motto remains "Where Everybody is Somebody", has evolved into a state of the art multi-service agency, which has a focus on service to this region.