Monroe Schoolhouse, From the Collection of Art Jordan

Story and Digital Images by Kathryn Craig,

Story by Kathryn Oldfield

At one time there were as many as 120 one room schoolhouses dotted over the countryside of Sussex County. Stillwater alone had eight school houses in 1902. Newton was the only school in the county offering a full three-year academic high school program.

Unlike today’s classrooms segregated by age and sometimes, intellectual ability, the early schools housed children who ranged in age from five to fifteen or so. Teachers were challenged with providing education across the barriers of age and interest. Often the oldest helped the youngest and the brighter students tutored the slower learners.

The early one-room schoolhouses had a short list of required equipment. A musical instrument, a victrola in later years, a sand table, a jacketed ventilating stove for heat, and washing and drinking facilities. It was certainly not unusual to find a switch or a paddle hanging openly in the room to remind the students to mind their manners.

As much as the schools of yesteryear differ from today’s, they also hold a lot in common.

The three "Rs" were and are the basis for much of the day’s work.

English Grammar, History, Geography & Spelling were the most common subjects in the one-room schoolhouses. High schools offered additional courses in Latin, Greek, Algebra, Geometry, Rhetoric and Literature.

Health and Physical Education became a required course for all students after the First World War discovered a population out of shape and in need of physical education.

Ralph Decker, one of the early superintendents of schools in the county noted that "Good methods, good organization, self discipline, units of work, club work, hand work and melody bands were some of the things emphasized."

I wonder what led to the demise of these quaint little halls of education?

It seems that as transportation and communication improved, it became evident that children in the cities were attending consolidated schools giving them educational advantages that we couldn’t afford to miss out on. Laws were soon passed that would mandate provisions for secondary education for all children finishing the eighth grade. Better county roads enabled students to travel farther and the tiny schoolhouses were just plain outgrown. Luckily, we have many structures remaining to visit and to remind us how far a century has taken us.

Hats off to the wonderful school systems of Sussex County today! We’ve come a long way and the rest is well… history in the making.