One-Room Schoolhouses

One-Room Schoolhouses. Life at a Rural School. , From the late 1700s through the mid 1900s, the one-room schoolhouse defined rural education in America. As late as 1913, half of America's schoolchildren attended one-room schools. The Ichabod Crane Schoolhouse served children of the town of Kinderhook from 1850 through 1944, when school centralization forever changed the face of public education., Local Pride , Education in the early republic was and informal, but by the mid-1800s every town in Columbia County had at least one single-room school to serve its local populations. The more isolated a schoolhouse, the greater role in played in the community Teachers often boarded with families, and one another These humble school practiced what today's educators encourage at classes and a tight-knit family-like atomsphere., Victims of Change , By the early 20 century, New York's rural schools were suffering from poor academic performance and deteriorating condition. One by one, Columbia County's single-room schools were closed and replaced with centralized school districts. Local families often resisted these changes, fighting for their pride in rural identity. Today many one-room schools remain in use as homes, outbuildings and monuments to a bygone era., [photos, clockwise from top left;] , One teacher taught taught all grade levels, serving as principal, nurse, art, and music instructor, and gym teacher. In such an environment, strict discipline was key. Stuyvesant Schoolhouse c. 1905. CCHS Collection, In addition to coursework, students helped with the upkeep of their school. Older students fetched water and tended the wood stove, while younger children cleaned erasers and washed blackboards. Ghent District 6 School c. 1905. CCHS Collection, Records for African American education as scaro but photographs reveal that some Columbia Cou schools were integrated by the 1800s Segregated schools remained in some rural parts of New York until a 1938 state law banned the practice. Pulver Station District 9 c. 1920. CCHS Collection, One-room schoolhouses were often uniform in design, built of wood frame or brick side consisted of one large room with desks and separate cloakrooms for girls and boys. Bathrooms were located outside in two small outhouses.West Ghent Sistrict 3 School c. 1900. CCHS Collection, [top:] This 19th century hornbook was used by Columbia County schoolchildren to learn to read. For more information, vist CCHSNY.ORG