Bunker Hill School House

Bunker Hill School House. Red Mill Museum Village. , Although this tiny school house was uncluttered with even the most basic of modern conveniences, it provided a quality education. , , The original school house for Hunterdon County District 31, often referred to as the Old Church School, was a small log building probably built in Alexandria Township in 1734. In 1860 it was replaced with a more substantial frame structure that still survives today. This one-room school house called Bunker Hil was brought to the site from its original loca- tion in 1974 and has been restored to appear as it did at the close of the nineteenth century. , In 1880 there were 50 students and the years school budget was $315.37. Some of the teachers included Jeremiah O. Hoff, Catherine Rittenhouse, Holloway W. Bellis, Miss S. Jennie Sutton, and Joseph P. Stout. Most teachers did not stay with the job very long. Wages were low and as a result many were forced to work second jobs. , In 1894, the Alexandria Township School Board discussed making needed repairs at thet Old Bunker Hill school house. However, rural 19th century voters often gave education a low priority. In August, the voters defeated a budget of $1,000 for books and supplies; 19 voted for and 38 voted against spending the money. In 1917, the County Superintendent condemned the Bunker Hill school house when the school board voted to build a new two-room school house to replace three older school buildings in the area. In July 1917, however, the voters turned down the new school house by 17 to 15 and it wasn t until 1919 that the new school house was approved. , The school house contained blackboards a world globe, maps, books, and a nature corner. The coal stove heated the classroom; stoking the fire was a privilege generally reserved for good students. The high corner stool and dunce cap were reserved for students who neglected their lessons. A sand table in front of the classroom was used for lessons in writing, arithmetic, geography and science. A shelf in the rear of the room held pails which students used to carry their lunches. , , Moving the School House , In 1974, the school house was moved to the Museum s grounds from its original location. The bell and the cupola was not part of the original structure, but was added by the Museum. It came from the Quakertown School House in nearby Franklin Township. ( photo captions ) , - Bunker Hill School Teacher Bert Hand and his students in 1912. , - The Bunker Hill Schoolhouse, pictured here in 1891, gave years of service providing a good basic education to hundred of scholars. A few can be seen in these pictures. There was no electricity in the school. Kerosene lamps were used for illumination. The windows were long and carefully placed to take advantage of natural light. There were no indoor toilets. The outhouses were next to the school; the girls was to the left and the boys to the right. Corncobs and pages from catalogs served in lieu of toilet paper.