District No. 1 School - Middlefield

District No. 1 School - Middlefield. . , In Clarksville, now known as Middlefield, the first schoolhouse was erected about 1807 nearly opposite the Baptist Church. Two other early public school sites have been documented. By 1870, the growing community needed a larger building and bought a 3-acre parcel of land on the east side of the Cherry Valley Creek from George Hyde Clarke of Springfield for $300. In 1875, construction of the two-story frame building reportedly earned local carpenters 75 cents a day., Prominently sited on the rise of land by the creek, the school features a large double front door with separate interior entrances to each of the two ground floor classrooms, The second floor was never finished nor used for classrooms. Trustee minutes recorded repairs and improvements through the years including remodeled windows to allow more natural lighting, indoor toilets, electricity in 1939 and a drilled well in 1950., There were sixty-five registered students in 1886. However, fifty years later, the upper grades were transported to Cherry Valley Central School for instruction. After many years of opposing centralization, the District voted to close the school on June 10, 1954. The remaining grades 1-6, two teachers, school supplies and furnishings, as well as the bell, were moved to the central school in Cherry Valley., Upper Right Photo Caption: Photo circa 1910. The Town of Middlefield Historical Association leased the schoolhouse in 1966 from the town for its headquarters and museum. Renovations included restoring the exterior of the building, re-creating a classroom, creating a local history museum on the second floor and providing meeting and program space. The Association is dedicated to preserving the original role of the schoolhouse and grounds as an educational and cultural resource in the community., Bottom Right Photos Caption: Fun times at the school have included picnics (circa 1915), baseball (1921)and 1918 Field Days with neighboring Roseboom School.