School District Number 1 - Oaks Corners
Dr. Ronald Grube, June 2021
One can never overstate the importance of Oaks Corners to the history and development of Phelps. It is fitting that of the many school districts in Phelps, Oaks Corners is District # 1. Jonathan Oaks built “a large framed public house in Oaks Corners in 1794” (Historical Sketches of Western New York by Elisha Woodward Vanderhoof, page 31). In 1794, a room in this tavern was given to serve the educational needs of the children of the area. For the next five or six years the tavern served as the school until a log schoolhouse was built. In 1818, a brick building was built by the neighbors who would benefit from the school. This was District number one.
People pledged all sorts of things to complete the 1818 brick schoolhouse. Our Howe House museum has the original document on the wall in the east room that shows what was pledged and who pledged it. Families and individuals pledged money, “lumber, grain, whiskey, neat cattle (steers), glass shingles, shoes and boots, nails, and labor” (Mabel Oaks. “Oak Corners 1790 – 1976”, page 11). The building was constructed on a steep hill that apparently caused a lot of falls for the little students on wet or snowy days (Helen Ridley “When Phelps Was Young” p.59). Helen Ridley explained how the school was designed “after the English style; with a series of graded platforms or steps. As the student advanced in his studies he sat in a higher row of seats until he had reached the ‘upper form’. A Mr. Eaton was the teacher and small poplar trees were set about the grounds while he was in charge. He was very proud of the trees and woe to anyone who went near them! A woman who had been his pupil wrote, after seventy years had passed away, relating to many things. She told how very fearful she had been to go near the little poplars, ‘lest my dress brush them’”(Helen Ridley, When Phelps Was Young” pp. 59-60).
The first school was in the tavern on the southwest corner of the main intersection on the map to the right. The brick schools were located on the east side of Preemption Road at the very bottom of the map. A second brick building was erected on the spot of the first, apparently after the steep hill had been cut down. This school building is still standing in Oaks Corners. Click on the map to open a new page with a high resolution version. (Click on that photo to magnify.)
Written on back of this photo from the early 1900s: My sister Margaret and I (Mabel) are circled in red. Leonard and George Bland are shown . Madeline Oaks (short hair) stands next to Miss Agnes Coughlin, teacher Oaks Corners School. ( Margaret is girl with short hair, circled) and (Mabel Oaks, nee Cook, is on the left, hair in braids, circled). Leonard and George Bland (seated, second row, first on left and third row fifth on right). Leonard became the hired hand on Nathan Oaks' farm and worked there until his death.
One can never overstate the importance of Oaks Corners to the history and development of Phelps. It is fitting that of the many school districts in Phelps, Oaks Corners is District # 1. Jonathan Oaks built “a large framed public house in Oaks Corners in 1794” (Historical Sketches of Western New York by Elisha Woodward Vanderhoof, page 31). In 1794, a room in this tavern was given to serve the educational needs of the children of the area. For the next five or six years the tavern served as the school until a log schoolhouse was built. In 1818, a brick building was built by the neighbors who would benefit from the school. This was District number one.
People pledged all sorts of things to complete the 1818 brick schoolhouse. Our Howe House museum has the original document on the wall in the east room that shows what was pledged and who pledged it. Families and individuals pledged money, “lumber, grain, whiskey, neat cattle (steers), glass shingles, shoes and boots, nails, and labor” (Mabel Oaks. “Oak Corners 1790 – 1976”, page 11). The building was constructed on a steep hill that apparently caused a lot of falls for the little students on wet or snowy days (Helen Ridley “When Phelps Was Young” p.59). Helen Ridley explained how the school was designed “after the English style; with a series of graded platforms or steps. As the student advanced in his studies he sat in a higher row of seats until he had reached the ‘upper form’. A Mr. Eaton was the teacher and small poplar trees were set about the grounds while he was in charge. He was very proud of the trees and woe to anyone who went near them! A woman who had been his pupil wrote, after seventy years had passed away, relating to many things. She told how very fearful she had been to go near the little poplars, ‘lest my dress brush them’”(Helen Ridley, When Phelps Was Young” pp. 59-60).
The first school was in the tavern on the southwest corner of the main intersection on the map to the right. The brick schools were located on the east side of Preemption Road at the very bottom of the map. A second brick building was erected on the spot of the first, apparently after the steep hill had been cut down. This school building is still standing in Oaks Corners. Click on the map to open a new page with a high resolution version. (Click on that photo to magnify.)
Written on back of this photo from the early 1900s: My sister Margaret and I (Mabel) are circled in red. Leonard and George Bland are shown . Madeline Oaks (short hair) stands next to Miss Agnes Coughlin, teacher Oaks Corners School. ( Margaret is girl with short hair, circled) and (Mabel Oaks, nee Cook, is on the left, hair in braids, circled). Leonard and George Bland (seated, second row, first on left and third row fifth on right). Leonard became the hired hand on Nathan Oaks' farm and worked there until his death.
If you have any history to add to this story please submit the Schools Suggestion Form.
School District Number 2 - Melvin Hill
Dr. Ronald R. Grube, July 2021
Around 1805, a log schoolhouse was built on top of Melvin Hill. Presumably, Jonathan Melvin provided the land for the children of the area. In 1817, when the town developed the district system, Melvin turned the school over to the town to create school district # 2. A wooden frame schoolhouse replaced the log school and was used until 1870. The school was then replaced by a brick structure that still exists today on the corner of Melvin Hill Road and County Road 23. Classes were held there until the Phelps Central School District # 1 swallowed it and most of the other one room schools in 1940. After the suspension of classes on Melvin Hill, the school became a private residence, as it is today.
Very little is known by the Phelps Historical Society about this and most of the other one room schools we will write about. That is one of the reasons we are writing these brief accounts. If you know any specific history about any one or more of the 24 school districts serving the children of Phelps, we encourage you to tell us what you have learned. The pieces of information specifically about the Melvin Hill school comes to us from Helen Ridley’s book “When Phelps Was Young”, chapter 10 on schools. Mabel Oaks’ brief statement about Melvin Hill in “Phelps Footprints” pages 21-28 and odds and ends in the museum, including the photographs in this article.
We are fortunate enough to have this new piece of history about the Melvin Hill school. Rosa Grube gives us this information about School District # 2:
Rosa F. Grube, July 2021
My grandmother, Beth Harland Kregloh, shared her memories with me of teaching, in 1912 and 1913, at the one room school at the top of Melvin Hill. She had taught in England before immigrating to the United States but found that teaching in a country school in Phelps was a unique experience.
The children were at various ages and class levels. Gram would teach one group as the others worked at their desks. Gram said that many of the older students were helpful in working with the younger students and in that way reinforced their own understanding of subject material.
What Gram hadn’t expected, when she took the job, was that she would have to be at the school to prepare for the day long before the students arrived. She chopped wood for the stove and started the fire, as well as filling the drinking bucket with water from the well. Gram saw that the bucket only had one ladle from which all students drank. She was concerned with the spreading of germs from the common bucket and ladle. With her first earnings Gram bought each of her students their own cup. To her surprise the school board objected to this and sent a board member to talk to her regarding “her putting on airs” as students had always taken drinks with the common ladle. Gram told the board member that her students would continue to use their individual cups.
Gram met, and fell in love with, a young man who lived down the hill from the schoolhouse. At that time, married women were not allowed to teach. When Beth married Willis Dimock Kregloh, she had to give up her teaching position. On her last day of teaching, the first little girl leaving the building offered her cheek for a goodbye kiss. Immediately, all the students lined up, from little ones to good sized farm boys. So, of course, Beth had to give a kiss to each student. Gram told me that this went against her reserved British bearing, but she couldn’t leave any out, as each student was special to her. Those students and her time at Melvin Hill, school district # 2, left Gram with many happy memories.
Around 1805, a log schoolhouse was built on top of Melvin Hill. Presumably, Jonathan Melvin provided the land for the children of the area. In 1817, when the town developed the district system, Melvin turned the school over to the town to create school district # 2. A wooden frame schoolhouse replaced the log school and was used until 1870. The school was then replaced by a brick structure that still exists today on the corner of Melvin Hill Road and County Road 23. Classes were held there until the Phelps Central School District # 1 swallowed it and most of the other one room schools in 1940. After the suspension of classes on Melvin Hill, the school became a private residence, as it is today.
Very little is known by the Phelps Historical Society about this and most of the other one room schools we will write about. That is one of the reasons we are writing these brief accounts. If you know any specific history about any one or more of the 24 school districts serving the children of Phelps, we encourage you to tell us what you have learned. The pieces of information specifically about the Melvin Hill school comes to us from Helen Ridley’s book “When Phelps Was Young”, chapter 10 on schools. Mabel Oaks’ brief statement about Melvin Hill in “Phelps Footprints” pages 21-28 and odds and ends in the museum, including the photographs in this article.
We are fortunate enough to have this new piece of history about the Melvin Hill school. Rosa Grube gives us this information about School District # 2:
Rosa F. Grube, July 2021
My grandmother, Beth Harland Kregloh, shared her memories with me of teaching, in 1912 and 1913, at the one room school at the top of Melvin Hill. She had taught in England before immigrating to the United States but found that teaching in a country school in Phelps was a unique experience.
The children were at various ages and class levels. Gram would teach one group as the others worked at their desks. Gram said that many of the older students were helpful in working with the younger students and in that way reinforced their own understanding of subject material.
What Gram hadn’t expected, when she took the job, was that she would have to be at the school to prepare for the day long before the students arrived. She chopped wood for the stove and started the fire, as well as filling the drinking bucket with water from the well. Gram saw that the bucket only had one ladle from which all students drank. She was concerned with the spreading of germs from the common bucket and ladle. With her first earnings Gram bought each of her students their own cup. To her surprise the school board objected to this and sent a board member to talk to her regarding “her putting on airs” as students had always taken drinks with the common ladle. Gram told the board member that her students would continue to use their individual cups.
Gram met, and fell in love with, a young man who lived down the hill from the schoolhouse. At that time, married women were not allowed to teach. When Beth married Willis Dimock Kregloh, she had to give up her teaching position. On her last day of teaching, the first little girl leaving the building offered her cheek for a goodbye kiss. Immediately, all the students lined up, from little ones to good sized farm boys. So, of course, Beth had to give a kiss to each student. Gram told me that this went against her reserved British bearing, but she couldn’t leave any out, as each student was special to her. Those students and her time at Melvin Hill, school district # 2, left Gram with many happy memories.
Front Row: Thomas Bankert, Willis Chilson, Clarence DeWalle, Beatrice DeWalle, Allen Chilson, Paul Chilson, Howard Tiller, Paul Van Damme
2nd Row: John (Jack) DeBoover, Mary Tiller, Mary Overslaw, Rose Verdehem, Mary Salisbury, Edith Tiller, George Bankert
3rd Row: Teacher - Mary Jensen,
Mary DeWalle, Betty Salisbury, Virginia Verdehem, Marcia Verdehem, Mary DeBoover, Phyllis Price, Evelyn Tiller, Joyce Mattoon
Back Row: Alfred Price, Edwin Van Damme, Peter VanHooft, Phillip Price, James Van Damme,
James Mattoon
2nd Row: John (Jack) DeBoover, Mary Tiller, Mary Overslaw, Rose Verdehem, Mary Salisbury, Edith Tiller, George Bankert
3rd Row: Teacher - Mary Jensen,
Mary DeWalle, Betty Salisbury, Virginia Verdehem, Marcia Verdehem, Mary DeBoover, Phyllis Price, Evelyn Tiller, Joyce Mattoon
Back Row: Alfred Price, Edwin Van Damme, Peter VanHooft, Phillip Price, James Van Damme,
James Mattoon
If you have any history to add to this story please submit the Schools Suggestion Form.
School Districts Numbers 3, 4 and 5 - The Joint Districts
Dr. Ronald Grube, August 2021
In 1927, the University of the State of New York developed guidelines for consolidation of local school districts into centralized school districts. Phelps had 24 school districts but did not jump at the chance to develop a centralized school at that time. A sunset clause in a Works Progress Administration grant most likely encouraged the creation of Phelps Central School. That clause stated that if construction on a centralized school building was under way by no later than January 1, 1940, a grant of $74,250 would be awarded to the project.
A 1939 proposal to create Phelps Central School, including a building project, had to be voted on by each of the 24 school districts. They did not all have to agree to join. Any school district that chose not to join the centralized school was free to opt out. They would not suffer any loss of funding as a result. Some of the outlying schools, called joint school districts, chose not to join the centralized school. Joint Districts numbers 3, 4 and 5 did not join. They, instead, chose to join other centralized school districts that made more sense politically and geographically.
Joint District # 3, also known as the Alloway School, joined the Lyons Central School District. The school was located near the corner of Alloway Road and Leach Road. The location is in the Town of Lyons. The 1874 map of Phelps shows District number three in the northeast corner of the township but does not show the school as it was in Lyons. Sadly, we do not have a picture of this school. Maybe you do. If so, we would love to scan it and add it to our collection.
In 1927, the University of the State of New York developed guidelines for consolidation of local school districts into centralized school districts. Phelps had 24 school districts but did not jump at the chance to develop a centralized school at that time. A sunset clause in a Works Progress Administration grant most likely encouraged the creation of Phelps Central School. That clause stated that if construction on a centralized school building was under way by no later than January 1, 1940, a grant of $74,250 would be awarded to the project.
A 1939 proposal to create Phelps Central School, including a building project, had to be voted on by each of the 24 school districts. They did not all have to agree to join. Any school district that chose not to join the centralized school was free to opt out. They would not suffer any loss of funding as a result. Some of the outlying schools, called joint school districts, chose not to join the centralized school. Joint Districts numbers 3, 4 and 5 did not join. They, instead, chose to join other centralized school districts that made more sense politically and geographically.
Joint District # 3, also known as the Alloway School, joined the Lyons Central School District. The school was located near the corner of Alloway Road and Leach Road. The location is in the Town of Lyons. The 1874 map of Phelps shows District number three in the northeast corner of the township but does not show the school as it was in Lyons. Sadly, we do not have a picture of this school. Maybe you do. If so, we would love to scan it and add it to our collection.
District #3 Alloway School. Wayne County Atlas 1904. The school is located near the center of the map.
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District #4 Union Free School of Clifton Springs. Ontario County Atlas 1874. The school is located on the north side of Teft Avenue.
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Joint District # 4 was eventually known as the Union Free School of Clifton Springs. It became a centralized school, located on Teft Avenue. Much more needs to be said about this important school. Certainly, all persons from the pre-Midlakes era will remember the great rivalry between the Clifton Springs and Phelps Union and Centralized Schools. This would make an interesting story – especially the sports rivalries over the years. Any volunteers to write this one?
Joint District # 5 was known as the Gypsum School. The building still stands just west of the township of Phelps. It is on the east side of County Road 27 and across from the east end of Bunker Hill Road. After the school closed, children from District # 5 joined either the Manchester, Clifton Springs or Phelps Central Schools. The school was a beautiful cobblestone building. My great-grandfather, John Grube, remodeled this building shortly after it closed, turning it into a private residence. By the way, it is located just across the road from what once was the Gypsum Baptist Church on Co. Rd #27 in the Town of Manchester. The Gypsum history will be included at some later time.
It is very important that the PCHS collects as many stories and historical images as possible. We encourage you to write for us. We will edit your work and will place it on our website (phelpsnyhistory.com), in our newsletter or both.
It is very important that the PCHS collects as many stories and historical images as possible. We encourage you to write for us. We will edit your work and will place it on our website (phelpsnyhistory.com), in our newsletter or both.
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Information used in this article came from “Important Facts About the Proposed PHELPS CENTRAL RURAL SCHOOL, 1939” and material in our collection at the Phelps historical society. Photos Barry Lee and PCHS files.
If you have any history to add to this story please submit the Schools Suggestion Form.
School District Number 6 - The Skuse School (unfinished)
Once again, we have a Phelps school house about which the Historical Society has little knowledge. However, the building still exists and appears to be in great shape. Gone are the swings, teeter-totter (or is that the see-saw), the flagpole, and probably the bell. I would bet that since the school closed in 1940, there are people who can give us a story or two that we can provide in the newsletter sometime in the future. We encourage you to help us discover more of the history of the Skuse School.
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According to PCHS files the building was at one time a shop – privately owned. The Skuse School building is labeled "School No6" with a drawing near the bottom right hand corner of the map below.
If you have any history to add to this story please submit the Schools Suggestion Form.
School District Number 7 -
Henpeck School House & Stories From My Grandfather
Sarah Landschoot, Town Historian August 2020
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “henpeck” as: to subject (one's spouse or partner) to persistent nagging and domination. Synonyms for henpecked include browbeaten, bullied, intimidated; so I ask you why did we nickname a Phelps school-house Henpeck? Mabel Oaks suggests there is a “forgotten tale of some unhappy husband” or due to Hen(ry)Peck, who was a long serving trustee for the school. A third possibility comes from Hazel Harland. She was told that when the children ate their lunches outside, the neighborhood chickens would flock to eat the crumbs. We may never know the reason for the name, but we do have some stories.
Henpeck School was established in 1829 and stood where Schroo Road and Route 488 meet. My grandfather, Henry“Hank” Landschoot, attended school at Henpeck up through eighth grade. He has memories of walking to and home from school each day, and not uphill both ways, but through piles of snow! My grandfather grew up on the western side of Griffith Road. He typically walked the roads to school, but if the snow was really high he walked the railroad tracks, where Ontario Pathways is now. Thinking back on it and laughing, he said “it wasn’t very smart, but I didn’t have to walk through the snow because the tracks were clear. And the snow was piled so high on each side, it kept the wind out.” He said luckily a train never came through because there wouldn’t have been anywhere to go! He also remembers seeing blocks of ice floating down the creek that runs along the tracks. Grandfather said one day a boy he went to school with got on a large piece of ice moving quite fast and floated towards home on it! He told me he wasn’t brave enough to try.
My family has a picture of the students of Henpeck School standing outside the brick building. My grandfather, who is on the end, is wearing boots handed down to him that look a few sizes too big. My aunt still has this pair of large boots worn by my grandfather! He told me that Jack Kennedy and the Williamson’s (Norman and Paul) were his best friends during school. All three of his friends went into the service and WWII following school. Jack Kennedy, a member of the Army Air Corps, died in a B25 Mitchell aircraft crash in June of 1945. It doesn’t seem that Paul Williamson moved back to the area, at least not for long if he did. Norman Williamson moved back to Phelps after the war. Unlike many schoolhouses in Phelps, PCHS does not have much information on Henpeck, as it was called, its students that attended, or pictures that I have come across. While PCHS is not accepting donations of artifacts at this time, stories, memories and pictures are always a welcome addition to our collection!
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “henpeck” as: to subject (one's spouse or partner) to persistent nagging and domination. Synonyms for henpecked include browbeaten, bullied, intimidated; so I ask you why did we nickname a Phelps school-house Henpeck? Mabel Oaks suggests there is a “forgotten tale of some unhappy husband” or due to Hen(ry)Peck, who was a long serving trustee for the school. A third possibility comes from Hazel Harland. She was told that when the children ate their lunches outside, the neighborhood chickens would flock to eat the crumbs. We may never know the reason for the name, but we do have some stories.
Henpeck School was established in 1829 and stood where Schroo Road and Route 488 meet. My grandfather, Henry“Hank” Landschoot, attended school at Henpeck up through eighth grade. He has memories of walking to and home from school each day, and not uphill both ways, but through piles of snow! My grandfather grew up on the western side of Griffith Road. He typically walked the roads to school, but if the snow was really high he walked the railroad tracks, where Ontario Pathways is now. Thinking back on it and laughing, he said “it wasn’t very smart, but I didn’t have to walk through the snow because the tracks were clear. And the snow was piled so high on each side, it kept the wind out.” He said luckily a train never came through because there wouldn’t have been anywhere to go! He also remembers seeing blocks of ice floating down the creek that runs along the tracks. Grandfather said one day a boy he went to school with got on a large piece of ice moving quite fast and floated towards home on it! He told me he wasn’t brave enough to try.
My family has a picture of the students of Henpeck School standing outside the brick building. My grandfather, who is on the end, is wearing boots handed down to him that look a few sizes too big. My aunt still has this pair of large boots worn by my grandfather! He told me that Jack Kennedy and the Williamson’s (Norman and Paul) were his best friends during school. All three of his friends went into the service and WWII following school. Jack Kennedy, a member of the Army Air Corps, died in a B25 Mitchell aircraft crash in June of 1945. It doesn’t seem that Paul Williamson moved back to the area, at least not for long if he did. Norman Williamson moved back to Phelps after the war. Unlike many schoolhouses in Phelps, PCHS does not have much information on Henpeck, as it was called, its students that attended, or pictures that I have come across. While PCHS is not accepting donations of artifacts at this time, stories, memories and pictures are always a welcome addition to our collection!
Henpeck Schoolhouse Late 1930s
Front Row: Bobby Mattoon, Dog, Bill Mattoon
Middle Row: (Girls) Peggy & Rose Schroo ( not sure which) , Jean Mattoon, ? Williamson?
Back row: (Teacher with boys) : Joe Mattoon Jr., Teacher ( Mrs. Howard?), Jack Kennedy, Norm Williamson, Paul Williamson Bill Taylor, Henry Landschoot
Front Row: Bobby Mattoon, Dog, Bill Mattoon
Middle Row: (Girls) Peggy & Rose Schroo ( not sure which) , Jean Mattoon, ? Williamson?
Back row: (Teacher with boys) : Joe Mattoon Jr., Teacher ( Mrs. Howard?), Jack Kennedy, Norm Williamson, Paul Williamson Bill Taylor, Henry Landschoot
If you have any history to add to this story please submit the Schools Suggestion Form.
School District Number 8 - Vienna Union School /
Phelps Union and Classical School
Formerly districts # 13 (East Vienna) and # 19 (West Vienna)
Information gathered and arranged by Dr. Ronald R. Grube, October 2021
Most of what we know about schools that became the Phelps Central School comes from two articles. The Phelps Citizen published an article June 18, 1891, titled “THE WORK OF EDUCATING – PROGRESS MADE SINCE 1802” and “Report and Proceedings, Fiftieth Anniversary of the Opening of the VIENNA UNION SCHOOL held in the Old School House, October 26th, 1896”. Unless otherwise stated, the information you will be reading comes from these two sources.
Education was always a priority in New York State. After homesteads were built, schools and churches were erected. This is true of Phelps. According to Helen Ridley (page 57 of When Phelps was Young), as early as John Decker Robison’s early days in our town, there was a school. The children were first taught in Robison’s shop. It is reported that Oliver Phelps’ sister, “Miss Phelps”, taught in Robison’s shop. (Ridley, page 57) This is a half century before Vienna took on the name “Phelps”.
As the community grew it became obvious that a larger school was needed. In 1802, a 20 by 40-foot building on the south side of Main Street became our second school. Aunt Chloe Warner was the first teacher. The building stood where the bank currently stands. Half of the little building was used as a school. The other half was the home of John Decker Robison’s son-in-law. By the way, in 1891, the bank that occupied the spot of this second school was the William B. Hotchkiss & Co. bank. Today it is the Generations Bank. This school served the educational needs of the area until the residents decided that two schoolhouses would be preferable.
Information gathered and arranged by Dr. Ronald R. Grube, October 2021
Most of what we know about schools that became the Phelps Central School comes from two articles. The Phelps Citizen published an article June 18, 1891, titled “THE WORK OF EDUCATING – PROGRESS MADE SINCE 1802” and “Report and Proceedings, Fiftieth Anniversary of the Opening of the VIENNA UNION SCHOOL held in the Old School House, October 26th, 1896”. Unless otherwise stated, the information you will be reading comes from these two sources.
Education was always a priority in New York State. After homesteads were built, schools and churches were erected. This is true of Phelps. According to Helen Ridley (page 57 of When Phelps was Young), as early as John Decker Robison’s early days in our town, there was a school. The children were first taught in Robison’s shop. It is reported that Oliver Phelps’ sister, “Miss Phelps”, taught in Robison’s shop. (Ridley, page 57) This is a half century before Vienna took on the name “Phelps”.
As the community grew it became obvious that a larger school was needed. In 1802, a 20 by 40-foot building on the south side of Main Street became our second school. Aunt Chloe Warner was the first teacher. The building stood where the bank currently stands. Half of the little building was used as a school. The other half was the home of John Decker Robison’s son-in-law. By the way, in 1891, the bank that occupied the spot of this second school was the William B. Hotchkiss & Co. bank. Today it is the Generations Bank. This school served the educational needs of the area until the residents decided that two schoolhouses would be preferable.
In 1820 the district was divided into two – East Vienna District 13 and West Vienna District 19. Two new buildings were erected. The east district was and is a two story cut stone building on Church Street. It used to be the St. Francis Rectory. The upper floor was owned by the Masonic Lodge and the lower floor was the school. The West Vienna school was and is a brick building with a cut stone foundation on the north side of west Main Street near the intersection.
East Vienna District 13
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West Vienna District 19
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We might fairly conclude that there was a bit of a rivalry between east and west Vienna. Stories about the two fire departments seem to confirm the rivalry. Indeed, there was, according to T. Benton Titus, “much opposition” to the idea of uniting the two school districts in the early and mid-1840s. The vote to unite the districts 13 and 19 was passed by five out of the six trustees. The other trustee would not give his consent. (The Phelps Citizen, June 23, 1898) The new district was given the number eight. The numbers 13 and 19 would be given to other districts (Stryker and Whiskey Hill).
Vienna continued to grow, and not only was there a need for more classrooms but also a need for higher education. Perhaps a compromise was struck to decide on the location for a new school building. A building lot was chosen on the west side of the village across from the cemetery. This decision is characteristic of the kind of compromise that makes a merger more palatable. The new location was in the west Vienna district but was slightly closer to the old east district school. In any case, the new school would be about a half mile from each of the old district schools. The new Vienna Union School was built where the Phelps Central School would eventually be built.
Opened in 1846, the Vienna Union School was a 40 by 60-foot brick building with a basement of 11 feet in height. It had two floors above, both more than 10 feet in height. There were five classrooms measuring 24 by 38 feet in size, a large library (500 volumes), and a lecture room.
Vienna continued to grow, and not only was there a need for more classrooms but also a need for higher education. Perhaps a compromise was struck to decide on the location for a new school building. A building lot was chosen on the west side of the village across from the cemetery. This decision is characteristic of the kind of compromise that makes a merger more palatable. The new location was in the west Vienna district but was slightly closer to the old east district school. In any case, the new school would be about a half mile from each of the old district schools. The new Vienna Union School was built where the Phelps Central School would eventually be built.
Opened in 1846, the Vienna Union School was a 40 by 60-foot brick building with a basement of 11 feet in height. It had two floors above, both more than 10 feet in height. There were five classrooms measuring 24 by 38 feet in size, a large library (500 volumes), and a lecture room.
There were three grades through which a student might pass. The first grade involved the basics (alphabet, arithmetic, reading and spelling). The student would advance to the second grade when the teacher believed that there was a sufficient mastery of the studies. The second grade completed the basics and might well be a student’s final course of study. The course of study included reading and spelling, geography, physiology, and arithmetic.
The third grade separated the school from the other schools in the town. If a student desired to move on to a college the following course of study would have to be mastered: reading and spelling, arithmetic, geography, analysis, grammar, anatomy, and physiology philosophy (natural and moral), composition, rhetoric, logic, chemistry, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, surveying (leveling and navigation), history, botany, and writing. A course of study could also include a language (Greek, Latin or French).
A student had to pay tuition for the third grade. Depending on the level of complexity, a student would pay $6 to $9 a year. If a student from outside the district 8 needed to live near this school to advance her or his education, the student could board in a house nearby for $1.50 a week.
After the incorporation of the village of Phelps, the school took on the name Phelps Union and Classical School (April 1855). In 1856 the school applied to be visited and accredited by the New York State Board of Regents. The student body continued to grow. By 1890, the Phelps Union and Classical School resolved its overcrowding by adding on to the building. The building, upon completion, had a seating capacity for 488 students.
The third grade separated the school from the other schools in the town. If a student desired to move on to a college the following course of study would have to be mastered: reading and spelling, arithmetic, geography, analysis, grammar, anatomy, and physiology philosophy (natural and moral), composition, rhetoric, logic, chemistry, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, surveying (leveling and navigation), history, botany, and writing. A course of study could also include a language (Greek, Latin or French).
A student had to pay tuition for the third grade. Depending on the level of complexity, a student would pay $6 to $9 a year. If a student from outside the district 8 needed to live near this school to advance her or his education, the student could board in a house nearby for $1.50 a week.
After the incorporation of the village of Phelps, the school took on the name Phelps Union and Classical School (April 1855). In 1856 the school applied to be visited and accredited by the New York State Board of Regents. The student body continued to grow. By 1890, the Phelps Union and Classical School resolved its overcrowding by adding on to the building. The building, upon completion, had a seating capacity for 488 students.
Phelps Union and Classical School after remodel
The village and town continued to grow, and it was clear that the nearly 80-year-old building would need to be replaced. In 1924 a bond for $175,000 was secured and the old building was razed and replaced with a larger building that included many more classrooms, a gymnasium and auditorium. In 1938, the Central Rural School Law mandated that more than half the students at the school be from the rural districts. More space was needed. By 1940, the final addition to the building that still stands on the northwest corner of Main and Banta Streets was added. Also, by 1940, the schools of Phelps centralized and the days of small and sometimes one-room schoolhouses were over.
Graduates of Phelps Union & Classical School 1898 . Names on back of photo:
Seated: ? Rockefeller, Elsie Hicks Holbrook, Anna Brophy, (teacher or principal?) , Louie Ross*, Earl Warner
Standing: Winifred Wright Salisbury, Lenore Armstrong * Louie is correct spelling
Seated: ? Rockefeller, Elsie Hicks Holbrook, Anna Brophy, (teacher or principal?) , Louie Ross*, Earl Warner
Standing: Winifred Wright Salisbury, Lenore Armstrong * Louie is correct spelling
School District Number 9 - Cuddeback or Cuddeback Station District
Located in the northeastern part of Phelps, the Cuddeback School was another joint school district. This brick building shared students with folks living in Seneca County and perhaps some from Wayne County. Like several other one room schools in Phelps, the Historical Society has very little information to share. We invite you to forward whatever information or stories you may have about the school or the Cuddeback family.
On the 1874 Phelps map, several Cuddeback farms were located near the school. The school itself is located on Avery Road (now a private residence). On the next road south of the school and on the north side of Cuddeback Road, was the Cuddeback train station. The station (not shown on the 1874 map) was on the west of the Sodus Bay and Pennsylvania Line. This line was recently abandoned by the Finger Lakes Railway.
Dr. Ron Grube
On the 1874 Phelps map, several Cuddeback farms were located near the school. The school itself is located on Avery Road (now a private residence). On the next road south of the school and on the north side of Cuddeback Road, was the Cuddeback train station. The station (not shown on the 1874 map) was on the west of the Sodus Bay and Pennsylvania Line. This line was recently abandoned by the Finger Lakes Railway.
Dr. Ron Grube
School District Number 10
Another joint school district outside of the Town of Phelps. The district ran about 2 ½ miles in the Town of Arcadia, along the northern border of Phelps and southern border of Arcadia. The school building still exists and is located in Wayne County on Clark Road ¾ of a mile west of Route 88 just south of Newark.
School District Number 11 - The Humphrey School
(also known as the Peck School in part of the 19th Century) Dr. Ronald Grube
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Miss Lois Pike gave her students at Phelps Central School in the 1950s one of the most useful or practical parts of our math education. I am not sure if it was built into the curriculum but the instruction on how to write checks and manage your money and savings, was very helpful. Even if it wasn’t built into the curriculum it certainly wasn’t a novel idea. Check out the bank that Flossie Derr created for her students at the Humphrey School two decades earlier.
Photo dated June 1938. |
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Muriel and her fellow students learned how to write checks and keep track of their savings.
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According to the minutes of the school district, the Humphrey School was built in 1827. These records name George Auken as the builder but do not indicate whether he was contractor, mason or both. Originally a one story schoolhouse, it was converted to a two story residence. The roof was jacked up and reinstalled on the new second floor. Over 65 years ago it became the home of the late Gerald Goodman and his wife Muriel Bennett Goodman. |
Photo above taken before the school closed in 1939.
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Muriel Bennett’s Quarterly Report of Progress for the year 1937-1938 Teacher Mrs. Florence Derr
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In the 1938 photo above, Muriel (in dress with white collar) is standing next to her teacher, Flossie Derr.
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If you recognize one of the students or are curious as to who they may be, please contact the PCHS office. A few of the photos have names on the back.
School District Number 12 - The Hill District (The Flood School)
School District #12 can be found on the 1859 map of Phelps on what today is County Route 26, near the intersection of Route 88. In the past (and for many people today) it was called the Vienna Road. Lewis Hill, who lived across the road from the school, presumably gave the land for the school. The earliest information we have at the museum shows the school on a ledger in 1837. A. Baldwin was the lead trustee and the school received $20.15 in apportionment aid. In April 1840, the teacher was paid $34.13 and the library apportionment was $8.53.
In the 1800s the District 12 was known as the Hill District. The neighbors in the area who likely sent their children to the school were the Hill, Tiffany, Stedman, Baldwin, Whittum, Case, Avery, Reed, Murphy, Filkin, and Roberts families. In the early 20th century, School 12 was known as the Flood School. The neighborhood had changed a bit. Then, the neighbors were the Flood, Hill, Wolf, Newton, Tiffany, Bigelow, Crow and Irvin families. Dr.Ron Grube
In the 1800s the District 12 was known as the Hill District. The neighbors in the area who likely sent their children to the school were the Hill, Tiffany, Stedman, Baldwin, Whittum, Case, Avery, Reed, Murphy, Filkin, and Roberts families. In the early 20th century, School 12 was known as the Flood School. The neighborhood had changed a bit. Then, the neighbors were the Flood, Hill, Wolf, Newton, Tiffany, Bigelow, Crow and Irvin families. Dr.Ron Grube
School District Number 13 - The Stryker School
The Stryker School was a wooden structure on the west side of Stryker Rd just north of McBurney Rd. It was torn down and now a grove of trees marks its former location.
Photo from the fall of 1935 was numbered as follows:
1-Kenneth Canne, 2-Charles Wilbur, 3-Brady Bellis, 4–Natalie Rector, 5–Elmer Mollenkopf, 6-Esther Mollenkopf , 7– Gloria Wilbur 8– Jolene Wilbur, 9-Clarence Mollenkopf, 10-Charles Mollenkopf, 11 -Teacher Margaret Mann (age 20)
Note: Margaret married Gordon Rector (age 24), older brother of Natalie (by 15 years) on September 15,1935.
1-Kenneth Canne, 2-Charles Wilbur, 3-Brady Bellis, 4–Natalie Rector, 5–Elmer Mollenkopf, 6-Esther Mollenkopf , 7– Gloria Wilbur 8– Jolene Wilbur, 9-Clarence Mollenkopf, 10-Charles Mollenkopf, 11 -Teacher Margaret Mann (age 20)
Note: Margaret married Gordon Rector (age 24), older brother of Natalie (by 15 years) on September 15,1935.
School District Number 14 - The Burnett District
The wooden schoolhouse was located on the south side of Burnett Rd about 1/4 mile west of County Rd # 6. It no longer exists.
Taken in front of Hiram Burnett’s house on Burnett Rd. looking east. School #14 is on the right side.
1905
Jennie Burnett next to flag pole
Jennie Burnett next to flag pole
January 1934
Front: Ethel Schoen, Mabel Schoen, Marion Burnett (age 12),
Back:Bob Schoen, Beatrice Louks –Teacher, Janice Facer, Clifford (Kip) Wilkes, Leon Wilkes
Front: Ethel Schoen, Mabel Schoen, Marion Burnett (age 12),
Back:Bob Schoen, Beatrice Louks –Teacher, Janice Facer, Clifford (Kip) Wilkes, Leon Wilkes
#15 Hoppel-Knickerbocker District
Did you know…
High School subjects were only taught at the Phelps Union and Classical School and the Union Free School in Clifton Springs. The rest of the districts only covered the first eight grades. Students from the outlying (country) districts desiring to complete a high school education had to find their own transportation to either the Phelps or Clifton Springs Village schools.
Source: Don Tiffany
PCHS files
High School subjects were only taught at the Phelps Union and Classical School and the Union Free School in Clifton Springs. The rest of the districts only covered the first eight grades. Students from the outlying (country) districts desiring to complete a high school education had to find their own transportation to either the Phelps or Clifton Springs Village schools.
Source: Don Tiffany
PCHS files
#15 Hoppel-Knickerbocker District
School building is located near the southwest corner of Rtes 96 and 488. It is now a private home. This district was later numbered #3
School building is located near the southwest corner of Rtes 96 and 488. It is now a private home. This district was later numbered #3
#16 Maryland District
Built in 1830, the 1078 Maryland St. home at the northwest corner of Maryland and Gifford roads was the original schoolhouse.
#17 Taney School District
Photo taken September 1958
The brick schoolhouse is at the corner of Cedar Swamp and Neider roads.
The brick schoolhouse is at the corner of Cedar Swamp and Neider roads.
#17 Taney School District class photos
#18 The White School
The White School stood as a wooden building until fairly recently. It was on Route 14 east of Oaks Corners. This schoolhouse served the Pine Plains area.
Names were not provided with the donated photo.
Names were not provided with the donated photo.
#19 The Whiskey Hill School
The Whiskey Hill School, also torn down, stood on the Pre-Emption Road just south of Gifford Road. Photo taken June 1919. According to Mabel Oaks (p.10 “Phelpstown A Continued Story), there was, before the brick building, a round cobblestone school referred to as a jug school that burned and was replaced by the brick building above.
#20 Dimock School
The original school building was round and built of cobblestone. It was known as the round jug schoolhouse. Due to a fire, the building was torn down and a two-story wooden structure was erected in the same location. It is now a private home on McIvor Road.
Round jug schoolhouse
District #20
After the fire.
After the fire.
#21 Coxsackie School
The brick schoolhouse was converted to a dwelling. The building is located on White Road at the south end of Mott Road. This district was later renumbered District #10.
Coxsackie School-August 1960
Coxsackie School - 1906
Coxsackie School - June 16, 1939
#22 Henpeck School
Later number of Henpeck District #7. The brick building was located on the corner of Schroo Road and Rte 488.
The building has since been torn down .
The building has since been torn down .
#23 Orleans School
A two-story brick building now used as a community center in Orleans. The disastrous fire of 1910 destroyed the first building on that site.
#24 Armstrong School
The brick schoolhouse is now a private home on County Rd #6.
Armstrong School 1936-1937
Teacher back row second from right: Elizabeth Lawrence Fox (Betty) Dec. 1912-Aug. 2004
Teacher back row second from right: Elizabeth Lawrence Fox (Betty) Dec. 1912-Aug. 2004
If you have any history to add to this story please submit the Schools Suggestion Form.
