Schools of the Past: Guilford District #13, Ives Settlement School
Two weeks ago the article written was the “Trestle School” which still stands, very much different that the photo that accompanied the article, located on County Road 35 from Guilford to Sidney. After a brief vacation (Thanksgiving holiday) we again return to the same area of the Township of Guilford and travel a short distance down County Road 35 less than a mile to the “Ives Settlement Road.” Making a right hand turn on this road travel approximately two-three miles and you will come to a settlement of farms. This is Ives Settlement! The photo that accompanies this article shows what was then the remains of the Ives Settlement schoolhouse when the photo was taken. This writer apologizes for the quality, but it a copy from a copy, which is not the best situation to deal with. If my information is correct, and I will stand corrected I am sure if I am incorrect, the former site of this school was just east of the Ives Family Cemetery.
As everyone who has attended school, whether is a one-room, two-room, elementary, village or large city school the following poem is true to all students who spent twelve years in the educational bastions for “read’n, write’n, arithmetic, and on to the higher education.
“The school is such a lovely place
And we wish it no hard luck
But just for fun. and a very small sum
We’d cart it away in a truck.”
This a appeared as what is now known as graffiti from an unknown early school. This writer is sure the majority of readers will agree with the above, especially in a lovely early spring day with sunshine, warm weather and we were all stuck in classroom!
Ives Settlement was first settled by Lyman Ives and his brother Samuel in the approximate time frame of the late 1790s. Their descendants still live in the area. The farm was located on a fairly steep hill (has not changed) southwest of Guilford. Located due west of the Parker (so designated by the railroad) and in approximately 1800 Lyman Ives erected the first recorded schoolhouse in the Guilford area. Bear in mind at the above date Guilford was still a part of the Oxford Township and was known as Fayette. After the completion of the school, Lyman Ives continued to teach there for three years.
This first schoolhouse was an extremely crude structure, being constructed of stone with the roof rafters being squared off logs and a thatch roof. An extremely crude fireplace, which was extremely drafty, was the only heat for the structure. Furniture consisted of squared off logs and rough planks on stumps for sawhorses. If Mr. Ives had a desk it was probably constructed of a broad plank set on rough, hand hewn logs. In this early day, textbooks were unheard of and the Bible was the reading and spelling book, serving as well as a recitation book and religious text. An interesting note at this time, how would an educator cope with these primitive educational tools, especially in view of the fact, don’t mix religion and education in schools. Needless to say attending school at this time was not a pleasant enjoyable experience, either for scholars or teachers, that are endured in Central New York State, winter winds howl, we have wet spring rains, early summer floods, and scholars were required to study and recite lessons wrapped up in their heavy winter coats and hats ad it was an absolute impossibility to heat the schoolroom. Keeping the candles lit was a never ending chore and when oil lamps were finally used, even they flickered and at times blew out.
As time progressed and the continual upkeep and maintenance was becoming a major problem, the subject of a new schoolhouse being erected came up. This was not without bitter arguments (has that changed?) and as has been and still is the money for the actual construction. Did the public want to pay for a new structure with public funds? $450 to build a new school – OUTRAGEOUS! Money was scarce (what’s new) and this huge amount equaled two years labor by a competent working man! Who ever heard of such a thing? The possibility of making the old building wind-tight. No way!
After continued bickering, bitter arguments at a trustees meeting, which was attended by farmers and homesteaders the matter of erecting a new school was brought up. Again the accusations, arguments and name calling appeared to be the order of the day. However, was it an act of God, an event happened which stopped this meeting cold!
It was late winter and a severe storm was brewing with high winds, driving rain and general blustery weather which was typical of Guilford’s weather. That has not changed, as any person who has to travel County Road 36 from Guilford Center to Norwich!
In the midst of all the bickering, name calling, a rather fierce gust of wind came through the chinks of the wall and blew out the candles. All was quiet as the men relit the candles from brands taken from the glowing fireplace. After relighting the candles the meeting continued for a while, when suddenly a terrific thunderclap shook the foundations of the building and yet another gust of wind blew the candles out once again.
This latest incident was almost unbearable especially as those present noticed a wet streak where rainwater was running down the inside of the stone walls. Still the procrastination continued and the diehards still argued against a new building. “Never! Never!” was heard over and over again.
Well at this time a second clap of thunder shook the building and the wind became stronger. What happened, you probably can guess, the candles blew out again! In the darkness before the candles could be relit, a person made the motion that $450 be spent to erect a new schoolhouse, from scratch. This motion from the darkness was passed without a dissenting vote and the meeting was then rather hastily adjourned.
Later the Chairman of the Trustees was heard to remark “This is the first time we had to have darkness to see the light.”
With this matter cleared away, and since the cost of building the school had caused so much dissension, how about the suggestion of paying the schoolteachers, what would this latest matter due to the peace and quiet. Hard cash money was unavailable; bartering was the basis of this economy in those times. However textbooks required from the barrelhead, hard cold cash. With teachers salaries such a problem, how was this situation handled, however in those early days, bartering became extremely effective, with everyone helping. An old adage “where there is a will, there is a way!”
This bartering consisted of families donating food to the teacher in place of wages, firewood was donated and slates for writing were also included. Still others would donate work in kind to the school district. If the teacher retained was not from the area, families would donate room and board and the teacher would supply food from her own allotment. If any person was affluent and has considerable possessions, they donated goods, etc. If a family was not affluent they would donate labor, chopping down trees for firewood and repairs, or they would cut the wood for fireplace logs. Still other would haul the logs to the school site and skilled carpenters would do their part by trimming the lumber for building crude furniture.
As the families helped the teacher, the teacher helped the families by educating their children. As stated above only the textbooks were missing and in their place, as every family had a Bible, this was the only learning tool available. Textbooks and dictionaries could only be purchased as written above with cold hard cash.
The date that the Ives Settlement School ceased to exist is not known, it could have possibly lasted until centralization came into style, however this settlement was lucky in the fact that Lyman Ives not only built the school but also taught. Mr. Ives had the foresight to realize that by educating the young scholars of the area, this was a vital step in the eventual growth of the Guilford Township. Not only by teaching the children to have respect for reading and figuring, it also served as a tool for them to become God-fearing Christians, with faith in the goodness of the Almighty. In conclusion it became a partnership between each individual and God.
Thus we conclude yet another chapter in “Schools of the Past” and next week we will travel a short distance to a school that long ago disappeared from the Guilford Township.
As everyone who has attended school, whether is a one-room, two-room, elementary, village or large city school the following poem is true to all students who spent twelve years in the educational bastions for “read’n, write’n, arithmetic, and on to the higher education.
“The school is such a lovely place
And we wish it no hard luck
But just for fun. and a very small sum
We’d cart it away in a truck.”
This a appeared as what is now known as graffiti from an unknown early school. This writer is sure the majority of readers will agree with the above, especially in a lovely early spring day with sunshine, warm weather and we were all stuck in classroom!
Ives Settlement was first settled by Lyman Ives and his brother Samuel in the approximate time frame of the late 1790s. Their descendants still live in the area. The farm was located on a fairly steep hill (has not changed) southwest of Guilford. Located due west of the Parker (so designated by the railroad) and in approximately 1800 Lyman Ives erected the first recorded schoolhouse in the Guilford area. Bear in mind at the above date Guilford was still a part of the Oxford Township and was known as Fayette. After the completion of the school, Lyman Ives continued to teach there for three years.
This first schoolhouse was an extremely crude structure, being constructed of stone with the roof rafters being squared off logs and a thatch roof. An extremely crude fireplace, which was extremely drafty, was the only heat for the structure. Furniture consisted of squared off logs and rough planks on stumps for sawhorses. If Mr. Ives had a desk it was probably constructed of a broad plank set on rough, hand hewn logs. In this early day, textbooks were unheard of and the Bible was the reading and spelling book, serving as well as a recitation book and religious text. An interesting note at this time, how would an educator cope with these primitive educational tools, especially in view of the fact, don’t mix religion and education in schools. Needless to say attending school at this time was not a pleasant enjoyable experience, either for scholars or teachers, that are endured in Central New York State, winter winds howl, we have wet spring rains, early summer floods, and scholars were required to study and recite lessons wrapped up in their heavy winter coats and hats ad it was an absolute impossibility to heat the schoolroom. Keeping the candles lit was a never ending chore and when oil lamps were finally used, even they flickered and at times blew out.
As time progressed and the continual upkeep and maintenance was becoming a major problem, the subject of a new schoolhouse being erected came up. This was not without bitter arguments (has that changed?) and as has been and still is the money for the actual construction. Did the public want to pay for a new structure with public funds? $450 to build a new school – OUTRAGEOUS! Money was scarce (what’s new) and this huge amount equaled two years labor by a competent working man! Who ever heard of such a thing? The possibility of making the old building wind-tight. No way!
After continued bickering, bitter arguments at a trustees meeting, which was attended by farmers and homesteaders the matter of erecting a new school was brought up. Again the accusations, arguments and name calling appeared to be the order of the day. However, was it an act of God, an event happened which stopped this meeting cold!
It was late winter and a severe storm was brewing with high winds, driving rain and general blustery weather which was typical of Guilford’s weather. That has not changed, as any person who has to travel County Road 36 from Guilford Center to Norwich!
In the midst of all the bickering, name calling, a rather fierce gust of wind came through the chinks of the wall and blew out the candles. All was quiet as the men relit the candles from brands taken from the glowing fireplace. After relighting the candles the meeting continued for a while, when suddenly a terrific thunderclap shook the foundations of the building and yet another gust of wind blew the candles out once again.
This latest incident was almost unbearable especially as those present noticed a wet streak where rainwater was running down the inside of the stone walls. Still the procrastination continued and the diehards still argued against a new building. “Never! Never!” was heard over and over again.
Well at this time a second clap of thunder shook the building and the wind became stronger. What happened, you probably can guess, the candles blew out again! In the darkness before the candles could be relit, a person made the motion that $450 be spent to erect a new schoolhouse, from scratch. This motion from the darkness was passed without a dissenting vote and the meeting was then rather hastily adjourned.
Later the Chairman of the Trustees was heard to remark “This is the first time we had to have darkness to see the light.”
With this matter cleared away, and since the cost of building the school had caused so much dissension, how about the suggestion of paying the schoolteachers, what would this latest matter due to the peace and quiet. Hard cash money was unavailable; bartering was the basis of this economy in those times. However textbooks required from the barrelhead, hard cold cash. With teachers salaries such a problem, how was this situation handled, however in those early days, bartering became extremely effective, with everyone helping. An old adage “where there is a will, there is a way!”
This bartering consisted of families donating food to the teacher in place of wages, firewood was donated and slates for writing were also included. Still others would donate work in kind to the school district. If the teacher retained was not from the area, families would donate room and board and the teacher would supply food from her own allotment. If any person was affluent and has considerable possessions, they donated goods, etc. If a family was not affluent they would donate labor, chopping down trees for firewood and repairs, or they would cut the wood for fireplace logs. Still other would haul the logs to the school site and skilled carpenters would do their part by trimming the lumber for building crude furniture.
As the families helped the teacher, the teacher helped the families by educating their children. As stated above only the textbooks were missing and in their place, as every family had a Bible, this was the only learning tool available. Textbooks and dictionaries could only be purchased as written above with cold hard cash.
The date that the Ives Settlement School ceased to exist is not known, it could have possibly lasted until centralization came into style, however this settlement was lucky in the fact that Lyman Ives not only built the school but also taught. Mr. Ives had the foresight to realize that by educating the young scholars of the area, this was a vital step in the eventual growth of the Guilford Township. Not only by teaching the children to have respect for reading and figuring, it also served as a tool for them to become God-fearing Christians, with faith in the goodness of the Almighty. In conclusion it became a partnership between each individual and God.
Thus we conclude yet another chapter in “Schools of the Past” and next week we will travel a short distance to a school that long ago disappeared from the Guilford Township.
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