Historic Burlington County Schoolhouses

1. Historic Burlington County Schoolhouses Joseph M. Laufer Burlington County Historian

2. Inspiration from a 1976 College Catalog Cover! 1. Brainerd 2. Maple Shade 3. Rancocas 4. Moorestown 5. Willingboro Original art work by Greg McHenry

4. Valuing education… From the 18th century, the citizens and leaders of Burlington County understood the importance and value of education. One-room schoolhouses have existed in our communities since the mid 1700s.

5. This “valuing of education” is reflected today in the efforts of the many volunteers in our local communities and Historical Societies who have mounted campaigns to save, move, and restore their historic schoolhouses and to create museums which perpetuate the memories of the dedication of parents and teachers who sacrificed so much to provide the best education affordable for the children of Burlington County.

6. Quakers first established schools in England to provide their children with a "guarded" education, one that protected the children from the influences of the larger society. When Friends arrived in America, they immediately founded schools to educate both boys and girls. Friends schools were founded in Philadelphia in the late 1600s. Believing that spiritual, social, and intellectual growth are closely linked, Friends have always stressed the importance of an education that supports the overall development of the child.

7. Friend’s Schoolhouse, Burlington - 1752 York St., between Penn & Union

8. Friend’s Lower Schoolhouse - 1791 Westfield / Cinnaminson Riverton Road, near Rt. 130

9. Clara Barton School Bordentown - 1852 Crosswicks & Burlington Streets

11. Youngest of 5 children (parents had 4 children during the first 7 years of their marriage, then, after a 10 year hiatus, Clara). Spoiled by brothers. “She grew up to be a rather willful woman, unable to act as a subordinate gracefully or to cooperate easily”

12. Because of her dysfunctional behavior, her parents sought the advice of a phrenologist. His advice: steer her into the teaching profession. That will cure her!

13. Early Teaching Career • She operated a schoolhouse in Oxford, Massachusetts for 10 years • Then off to Clinton, NY for a college course in 1851 • Arrived in Bordentown in 1852, remaining there only one year, until 1853

14. Bordentown: 1851-1852 • Appalled by kids roaming the streets • Offered to serve 3 months without pay if town made school free for everyone • Used old Quaker school closed in 1839 • Within a week: 6 students grew to 55 • Following year: 600 pupils; 8 teachers • Bordentown convinced: free public education would work in New Jersey just as in Massachusetts!

15. First owned by the N.J. Board of Education; • then transferred ownership to the Burlington County Board of Education; • then transferred to the Bordentown Board of Education On January 1, 2006, it was purchased by the Bordentown Historical Society at a cost of $1.00 and is currently being restored.

16. Currently undergoing a $25,000 restoration with help from the State of N. J. and the Crosswicks Foundation.

17. Founded Red Cross in 1881 Experience in Washington, DC during Civil War (securing supplies for wounded) and a trip to Europe inspired her to found the Red Cross.

18. Died in Glen Echo, Maryland at age 91; buried in Oxford, Massachusetts

19. Willingboro Schoolhouse - 1866 Salem Road National Historic Landmark in 1973 Built in 1866 at a cost of $995.

20. Left: Willingboro students pose at Salem Rd. School in 1900 The school closed in 1918 Re-opened several years later to carry overflow from larger school next door. Right: c. 1925 inside view – decorated for Christmas No running water or indoor plumbing. Students retrieved water from a well across the street!

21. Perkins Lane School - late 1800s Edgewater Park 1103 Perkins Lane

22. Little Red School House – 1811 Maple Shade 415 W. Main St.

23. Rancocas Friends School - 1822 Westampton Main St., Rancocas

24. Brainerd School, Mt. Holly - 1759 Oldest School in New Jersey standing on its original site 35 Brainerd St.

25. Interior of the Brainerd School Maintained by the National Society of the Colonial Dames in America in the State of New Jersey

26. Georgetown School – 1849 Mansfield Route 206 N Just outside of Columbus

27. Billy K. Haines Schoolhouse – 1860 Vincentown Race St. and Municipal Parking Lot Behind the Library, at the Mill Pond

28. Interior of the Billy K. Haines Schoolhouse

29. 1981 transfer of schoolhouse from grounds of the Allen Oil Company on North Main St., Vincentown

32. Red Lion School, Red Lion (Southampton) Red Lion Road

33. Lane School at Smalley’s Corner, Southampton (across from Vincentown Diner)

34. New Freedom School, Vincentown Now a part of Union Church complex on Red Lion Road, Southampton

36. Picture and Painting of New Freedom School

37. Retreat School, Southampton Now Oak Grove Presbyterian Church on Philos Bridge Road, Southampton

38. JOHN G. HERBERT SCHOOL 35 Plum Street, Vincentown Known also as “The Select School” – a private school Established 1858 – continued until 1898

39. MT. HOLLY HERALD John J. Herbert School, known as a select school, was established in 1858 & continued until about 1898. Herbert was an excellent teacher and had a reputation as a very strict disciplinarian. He was son-in-law of a Baptist pastor and public school teacher. His books formed the first Vincentown Public Library. This poster celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Vincentown Library – eleven years before Mary Irick Drexel donated the Sally Stretch Keen Library on Main Street (1928).

41. BUDDTOWN SCHOOL, SOUTHAMPTON

42. Buddtown Students 1860’s

43. Schoolhouse on Gager Farm, Southampton Possibly the Old Juliustown Schoolhouse Now a Feedstore on Gager Farm, 111 Newbolds Corner Rd., Southampton

44. Cross Keys School, Medford - 1857 Recently restored and dedicated to the memory of local historian, Tom Chavis Mill Street, between South Main St. and Himmelein Road

48. The Cross Keys School House in Medford was formally dedicated on September 7, 2006 in memory of Tom Chavis, a long-time member and past president of the Medford Historical Society. Tom Chavis

49. This plaque is at the perimeter of the front parking lot of McDonalds Restaurant at the intersection of Stokes, Dixontown and Skeet Roads in Medford, the original location of the Cross Keys School.

50. Friends Schoolhouse Union St., Medford