Quinlan Schoolhouse

Quinlan Schoolhouse. . This school was one of thirteen one-room schoolhouses in Charlotte. It was built around 1850 and was in use until 1950. One-room schoolhouses were built throughout the town in order to educate the children of nearby farm families. Children between the ages of five and eighteen years old attended these schools. Older children often assisted the younger ones with their lessons, which freed the teacher to attend to a group with different learning abilities. The subjects taught were arithmetic, spelling, reading, penmanship, geography and English., The School was named for the Quinlan family who owned a farm on Spear Street in the eastern part of Charlotte. The building was disassembled and moved to its present site on the Town Green in 1996. In order to furnish the school, local residents donated items from the time periods that spanned years the school was in use., [Photo captions, from left to right, read] , . Local students participate in living history such as this remembrance at the school. They also collect oral histories from former students: "In the winter, I remember Mrs. Preston used to tell us "Bring a Potato" and have it washed and ready. We'd put it on the big stove and we'd bake the potato. Everybody had their own potato. We grew potatoes on the farm and the school would allow us to take time off and go pick potatoes in the fall.", . Interior of Quinlan Schoolhouse. The tin lard pails hanging on the coat rack were used by students to bring their lunches., . When restoring the schoolhouse, volunteers found paper scraps such as these used for insulation in the walls. During the school year, attendance varied widely depending upon the season. During planting or harvesting time, children were needed to help on the farm., . Students from the 1926-27 school year.