Built in 1838 as a district schoolhouse, it served as a school and community function space for many years, and now houses town offices.

[1] The Nelson Schoolhouse is located in the village center of the town, on the east side of its green just south of the library.

The building is a 2+1⁄2-story structure, built of red brick laid in stretcher bond.

It has a pair of doorways in the main facade, each topped by a four-light transom window, with a single long granite lintel stone above both entrances.

The building is topped by a small wooden tower with an open belfry and a shallow-pitch pyramidal roof.