School #7

School #7. Rural One-Room School During Segregation. , Port Republic School #7 was built on this site around 1870 and remained in continuous use until it was closed in 1932. This school is from a time when free public education for all was a new concept in post-Civil War America., This schoolhouse served to educate white children in grades 1 - 7, all in the same classroom, usually with only one teacher providing instruction in all subject areas. In addition to the "3R's" (reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic) rural one-room school teachers also taught science, geography and history., One room schools were located throughout the county so that no child would have to walk more than three miles to school. Only as roads improved in Calvert County did centralized schools begin to be built, and children were then transported by bus to Prince Frederick., In 1976, the Calvert Retired Teachers Association restored the one-room school as a Bicentennial project and they continue to run the educational programs that are available to all schools. It is open to the public on designated days and by appointment., Captions in Lower Left-Hand Corner of Marker, Student Ann Cranford in the early 1930's, with supplies - some donated by companies - for free lunch programs., The iron "chunk" stove provided the only source of heat. Boys gathered wood for the stove from the shed nearby., There was no electricity and water was carried from a neary spring., Two outhouses were the only toilet facilities., Class photos show the Port Republic School #7 in the 1910's and 1920's.