FREETOWN — Soon passersby won't have to witness the sad decline of an 18th-century school house in the Assonet Village Historic District where, in an otherwise charming community hub, the old building has fallen into disrepair with vines growing through its walls, boarded-up windows, and a rotting roof.

In a first step toward revitalization, residents invested in weatherproofing the 1794 Village School House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. By agreeing to match a recent $30,000 emergency grant from the state’s Historical Commission, they guaranteed the building’s leaking roof will be fixed by winter, thereby saving it from potential collapse and making way for future rehabilitation efforts.