The Seven School Houses - Huntington Township Center School

The Seven School Houses - Huntington Township Center School. . , The Seven School Houses , By 1870 there were seven schools in Huntington Township, providing the educational needs of 163 pupils in grades one through eight. Each school was designated by number but was also spoken of by the name of some well-known family in the district., The schools all met in one-room buildings with desks of different sizes to accommodate boys and girls just getting acquainted with the ABCs as well as "big boys and girls,' many who were of high school age. One student remembered:,

"Inside each small entry there were nails upon the walls. Where we hung our wraps in winter - cloaks, or capes, or shawls. With mud or snow outside we replaced our boots with shoes. On the floor each had a space so to tell which ones were whose."

, No teacher training was necessary. If one could pass the county exams for teachers, he or she could begin teaching after completing high school or even before. A song from a popular song book of the day said it all:,

"Forty little urchins coming through the door, Pushing, crowding, making a tremendous roar, 'You must keep quiet, Can't you mind the rule?' Bless me this is pleasant - teaching country school."

, Huntington Township Center School , In April of 1818, after traveling five weeks from their home in Huntington, Connecticut, John and Marilla Laborie, Huntington Township's first settlers, moved into their newly constructed log cabin located at the southwest corner of the township. Several families followed in quick succession. In the winter of 1821-1822, a log schoolhouse was built at a location one mile south of here. It opened with 14 students in attendance., By 1830 the population had increased to 743. New one-room schoolhouses were built to accommodate the growth. They were similar in size, with playgrounds, shade trees and a well or cistern close by. From nearby and sometimes a mile or two away, pupils trudged through heat and cold, rain or shine, to the little schoolhouses., The Center School schoolhouse was the seventh and last to be built. It was constructed soon after the end of the Civil War. It served the community until 1911, when the seven schools were consolidated and the classes were held in the new building next door. But consolidation was not without opposition. The population of Huntington had been declining steadily for fifty years; a booming cheese industry had drawn people to Wellington and away from Huntington. By 1910, the population had dropped to 619, after reaching a high of 1,109 in 1860. Many questioned the wisdom of the new building., In 1958 another consolidation took place when the school districts of Huntington, Sullivan, Homerville and Spencer organized the Black River Local School District. A high school was built in 1960 but it wasn't until 1996 that a building was constructed to accommodate all the elementary school children., The Center School building was sold in 1911 and moved to a farm one-half mile north on State Route 58. It served as a farm out-building until 2005 when it was moved back here to its original location. With the financial assistance of many individuals, organizations and grantmakers, it was restored by the Huntington Historical Society.