Once again we return to the southwestern section of the Township of Greene for a history of the Fiscal’s Corners District School which was active as an educational institution from 1827 to 1928. All credits for the historical information in all previous and future articles are to be given to Mildred Folsom for her documentation ‘Town of Greene - Rural School Districts” written in 1969. At that time she documented that the school house was converted to a private dwelling and was still standing.
District #6 in the township was located in the southwest section of Greene and in comparison with the latest Chenango County map is located on County Route 1 which runs west just past the Geneganslet Gulf Course on New York State route 12. This writer has not had the opportunity to travel to this area to view this previous educational building, but then, Rome was not built in a day. The photograph of the school which was taken in May of 1916 shows the usual white frame building, center door, and chimney on the rear of building, one of possible two windows on one side and more than likely the same on the other side. Whereas some of the early school buildings were built with the one front door, and inside a hall, then enter through probably two doors to the area of the classroom.
The “Records of Boundaries” in the above publication give the boundaries of District #6 as being located between Captain Harmon Terwilliger’s and Andrew Terwilliger’s to the County Line. However the district boundaries were changed in 1832 with the west half of 70/4T occupied by Harmon Terwilliger being added from District #11 to District #6. This change of districts, either adding or taking away was a more or less common practice in the Township, and the research of other Chenango County school district in other townships has also been the scenario throughout the course of these schools existence. Again in 1846 the farm of Urias Decker previously in District # was given to District #13 (Greene and Brisben).
In the research of the deeds, Mrs. Folsom did not record an actual deed recorded for this school, but in the research did give that the grounds on which this schoolhouse had been built was given to the District by the Ockerman family. The first schoolhouse was painted red, and burned and was re-built from a huge old hill pine, donated to the District - which produced enough lumber to construct the entire building. This new school was also painted red and then, much letter white.
In 1827 the names of adults attending school reads as follows: James Burroughs, Daniel Low, Hezekiah Wingate, Ezekiel Ronk, Andrew, Captain Harman, Herman T., Henry S., Simon S. Philip, Hanna, John, Barney, Jacob Terwilliger, Townsend Bagley, Elijah, Benjamin Townsend, Walter Whitbeck, Benjamin Fisk, Townsend Carman, and Isaac Townsend. In the year 1835 the adults in attendance were: the Terwilliger’s listed above, some names not appearing in this year, but additionally the names of John, George Copeland, Elijah Townsend, Benjamin Burroughs, Andrew, Walter Whitbeck, Lawrence Ockerman, Francis Rose, Gilbert Huffman, and Charles Greene.
With this extensive list of adults, another mystery of history, were these adults not able to read and write and needed an education to be able to conduct their lives in a better manner or was this year a test to determine whether a school was absolutely necessary?
Continuing to the year of 1835 the names of adults included the Terwilliger families, George, John Copeland, Everett Hoffman, Elijah Townsend, Benjamin, James Burroughs, Andrew Whitbeck, Lawrence Ockerman, Francis Rose, Gilbert Huffman, Water Whitbeck and Charles Greene. By the term of May 1,1845 Hanna L. Burroughs was teaching 28 pupils which included 12 Terwilligers, 6 Copelands, 1 Dunn, 3 Brighams, 1 Burroughs 3 Whites and 1 Hubbard. Thirty years later the 1875 Atlas of Chenango County for the District #6 shows many of the above names still living in the area.
Throughout the years from 1830 to 1939 the number of pupils attending this school range from a high of 61 (1838) to a low of 23 (1879. During those many years the district would see many gentlemen serve as trustees for the school. Among the names that were found were Lyman Potter, Townsend Bagley, E. Hoffman, H. B. Terwilliger, George Copeland, S. Terwilliger, P. Terwilliger, L. Burroughs, Lawrence Ockerman, Seth Phillips, J. Copeland, and C. English, in the early years and later in t he 1900’s Floyd Copeland, Charles Parsons, EdgarTerwilliger, Leon Fox, M. D. Bellinger, Mrs. Leon Fox (1913) she would be the first woman elected as trustee, Hyatt Adams, George Hotchkiss to name a few. In 1935 would see yet another female become trustee that being Mrs. William Copeland and in 1936 Mrs. Asher Copeland.
Again, not to be repetitive of historical information, tribute is due to the many teachers who were at District #6 as many of these early educators taught under primitive conditions. Through the decades Hanna Burroughs, Louise Blair, Matilda Burroughs, Nellie Horton, Vina Seymour, Margaret Pike, Lucy Wade, John Redmond, Sara Guy, Helen Mille, Ethel Rogers, Edna Burroughs, Virgie Kenyon, May Welch, Laura Juliand, Cora Lounsbury Butts, Jennie Brown, Effie Comfort, Phebe Hotchkiss, Beatrice Holdrege Webb, Lydia Port, Pluma Hall, Doris Ames, Elsie Gay, Nellie Forster, Mildred Harrington, Louise Copeland Ames, Ethel Ingraham, Wilhelmina Hoeppner Hall and finally in 1924-26 Vienna Fox Copeland when the school closed and the pupils were henceforth transported to Greene.
Thus we conclude another chapter of history of District #6 and inclosing, this writer will reiterate once again, if you have school history tucked away and no longer feel the need to retain it, please do not destroy, pass it along to your local historian, library, or to the Chenango County Historical Society. Once written history is destroyed, it is lost forever.