The Linscott is a combination of two former elementary schools that were consolidated into one school. The 1865 original school was called Linscott Elementary School which was located at the corner of School and Main where the CVS is currently located. It was named after Andrew Linscott who attended schools in Woburn. He later fought in the Civil War and when he returned to Woburn after the war and became a school teacher.
The original Rumford School was located on Elm Street in North Woburn. Operating by 1869, it was destroyed in 1876 by fire. Rebuilt in 1876, it was in use until a fire bombing destroyed it in 1970. Named after Sir Benjamin Thompson, (Count Rumford). Thompson was born in rural Woburn, Massachusetts. His birthplace is preserved as a museum next door to the school.
Thompson’s open support of the British crown, however, made his position increasingly dangerous as political tensions mounted in the Colonies. As a result of his loyalist activities, he was forced in December 1774 to flee to Boston, An American-born British physicist and inventor. Some of his inventions included the drip coffee pot and the kitchen stove. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said that the three greatest minds America ever produced were Jefferson, Franklin and Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford).