Date: Fri 29-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Middle-Gate-schoolhouse-Hayes

Full Text:

A Renovation Celebration: Coming Out Party For One-Room Schoolhouse

(with cuts)

BY SHANNON HICKS

A century ago, when Newtown's land was dotted with a number of one-room

schoolhouses, most families did not have automobiles to use to drive their

children to school. One-room schoolhouses, then, were for the children in the

immediate area of the building, for those within walking distance.

Today, of course, children are brought to school on school buses or by their

parents in cars, trucks and minivans. School buildings are much larger, with

classrooms for separate grades, teachers who focus on a particular grade or a

specific subject, and indoor plumbing, controlled heating and air

conditioning. But the photographs and other images of one-room schoolhouses in

America still stand as a common, if not romantic, vision of educational life

over a century ago.

The Newtown Historical Society will host a celebration at the Old Middle Gate

One-Room Schoolhouse on Sunday, May 31. The schoolhouse underwent a major

restoration last year, paid for by the historical society. This weekend, the

society invites the public to visit the schoolhouse, using their preferred

mode of transportation, for an afternoon reception.

The Middle Gate Schoolhouse, now located on the front lawn of the current

Middle Gate School building on Cold Springs Road, is the only Newtown one-room

schoolhouse owned by the society.

The original schoolhouse for the Bear Hills district was built around 1798,

according to the essay "The Old Middle Gate One Room Schoolhouse," written by

Town Historian Dan Cruson in the early 1990s. The district was renamed Middle

Gate shortly after 1803, "reflecting the presence of the Middle tollgate

located on the nearby Monroe-Newtown border," Mr Cruson wrote. "It is

uncertain where the original schoolhouse for this new Middle Gate district was

located."

By 1850, the school district's second building -- the present one-room

schoolhouse -- was built on the north slope of Route 25's Tollgate Hill as it

begins to rise toward the Monroe border. The second building, Mr Cruson wrote,

was built as the result of a district committee vote in 1850. Total cost of

the building was $190. The schoolhouse was used by Newtown students until

1920.

The historical society acquired the one-room schoolhouse in 1966. The building

was actually a gift, according to Mr Cruson's essay, to the society from Harry

Gould, owner of Gould Realty Property. When Mr Gould purchased property on

both sides of Route 25 for housing development he offered the schoolhouse to

the society with one condition: it had to be moved off the Gould property.

A committee formed by the society deemed the front lawn of Middle Gate School,

at the time under construction, as the ideal location for the school's

namesake building. "As a result," Mr Cruson wrote, "the new elementary school

is the only one which literally harbors its own heritage in its shadows."

The society has strived to keep the building's 18 by 20-foot exterior as close

to its original appearance as possible. The interior has been returned to what

historians think it looked like during the 1850s.

Last summer, the historical society spent $6,000 to have the building's roof

replaced. Windows were also rebuilt for the building, using panes of windows

that were already in the building's walls.

"Most people think we own all of [the one-room schoolhouses in Newtown]

because we're the historical society," says Elin Hayes, the society's

president. At one point, the society also owned Land's End School, the brick

schoolhouse which still stands at the intersection of Currituck Road, Obtuse

Road and Route 25. That particular schoolhouse is now in private ownership.

"It makes us proud to own one in such good condition," Mrs Hayes continued.

"It will now be utilized for educational purposes." Second graders at Middle

Gate will have opportunities to visit the schoolhouse with their classes.

Teachers can continue to present programs where their students would have the

hands-on opportunity to experience a day in the life of a student over 100

years ago.

The purpose of Sunday's reception, says Mrs Hayes, is for the public to visit

the spruced-up schoolhouse, which is rarely open to such large groups.

Dan Cruson will be at the schoolhouse Sunday afternoon. He will be available

to sign copies of his new book, Images of America: Newtown . Copies of Mr

Cruson's previous books will also be available for purchase Sunday afternoon,

with proceeds to benefit the Newtown Historical Society.

David Merrill, a Newtown artist, will also be part of the celebration. He will

be signing copies of his Newtown prints.

The celebration will also present costumed docents, who will be available to

answer questions about the building and its history. Sandra Tarbox and Dot

Wenblad will both be dressed in period clothing for the event.

"We have a dual purpose for May 31," Mrs Hayes said last week. "We will be

celebrating the publication of Dan Cruson's new book, and we will have the

building open for its coming-out party, of sorts. The building has not been

open like this since the restoration was completed last summer.

"We are encouraging kids and families to come out. It should be a good day,"

Mrs Hayes promised.

The Middle Gate Schoolhouse will be open Sunday, May 31, from 2-4 pm. The

public is invited to visit the schoolhouse, free of charge. Refreshments will

be served.