Irish Immigration to Avon – A Forerunner To An Incidence of Cultural Prejudice at the Pine Grove School House In West Avon, 1876 (Part 2)

Author: Janet M. Conner,  Avon Historical Society     (Part 1 was previously published on March 1.)

History of the Pine Grove School House, Harris Road and West Avon Road, Avon, Connecticut

The little, white painted school house, built in 1865, sits on its original foundation on the corner of Harris Road and West Avon Road in Avon, Connecticut.  The word ‘quaint’ is all-encompassing when looking at this well-preserved historic relic.  Other adjectives come to mind like ‘picturesque’, ‘charming’ and ‘bucolic’ to describe this gingerbread trimmed, one-room school that functioned until 1949.

Fig. 6: Pine Grove School House, map

It is located in the former District #7, one of the divisions Avon was divided into to locate schools depending on population to educate children.  Alice Holmes Thompson wrote that in the May 1865 session of the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, a resolution was passed as follows: “Upon the petition of O. L. Woodford and others, inhabitants of the towns of Avon and Farmington, in the county of Hartford, praying for the incorporation of a School District from portions of the third and fourth districts of Avon, and of the Unionville school district of Farmington, be it resolved that such a district shall be created.” Since Avon began as a farming community, with three working farms even today, the students were the sons and daughters of local farm families.

The exterior of the building exhibits some Victorian features with its high peaked roof line and hand-cut wood detailing.  There is a single-entry door in the front but, once inside the entryway, there is one door to the right for the boys and one to the left for the girls.  The pupils were also seated on separate sides in the classroom.  There is an original iron sink with a hand pump where children washed their hands.  Potable water was drawn from the neighboring farm’s spring in a bucket and children drank water ladled into a tin cup, according to Thompson.

The interior of the school, though simple, was the newest and most modern of the buildings in the seven school districts with two outhouses.  The original high ceiling is curved and covered with tin painted white.  As the heat from the stove rose, it was reflected back to warm the students.  The wood burning bench stove in the center is an excellent match to the original and is vented to the outside via a large stove pipe.  There are four chalkboards.  One is an original ‘blackboard’ made of boards painted with Japan black.  The others are made of slate and known as slate boards.  There are neat rows of desks that represent changing styles of numerous decades of different sizes.  Some have adjustable legs to accommodate growing children.  At one time the school used double desks and one is on display.  The teacher’s desk is a reproduction of one found in a photograph taken in the school in 1912.  It was built in Riverton, CT by the Hitchcock Chair Factory. Many of the artifacts within the schoolhouse such as books, teacher’s hand bell, and globe vary in time periods.  “The school was constructed and equipped at a cost of $1,538,” according to Frances L. Mackie.

The Pine Grove School House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and is a part of a designated Historic District.  This includes the school house and five neighboring farms that are still extant.  These farms and farmhouses include Sunrise Farm, the former Marcus Thompson farm, the former Ephraim Woodford farmstead, David Rood farm and Isaac Woodford farm.

The Pine Grove School House has withstood the march of time with restoration and preservation undertaken by the Avon Historical Society.  Many former students of the school have very fond memories of attending there and some of the old-timers came for the 150th year birthday celebration of the school house in 2015.  We, at the Society, consider the school house a treasured gem.  The instance of cultural prejudice against the Irish immigrants was a regrettable episode in this school’s complex and remarkable history.  Many one-room school houses have fallen into disrepair and have disappeared from our historic towns. They exist only in the collective memories of their eldest citizens.  We, at the Society, invite you to step back in time to immerse yourself in the bygone days of early education in Avon.  The Pine Grove School House is open for tours from June through early September on Sundays from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. with a Society docent to answer questions.

Sources:

Mackie, Frances L. Avon, Connecticut: An Historical Story. Canaan, NH: Phoenix Publishing, 1988.

Thompson, Alice Holmes. “Pine Grove School, Seventh District, Avon, Conn.,” The Lure of the Litchfield Hills, December 1953.

Recommended for Further Reading:

Howard, Nora O. Avon (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing Co. 2000.

Wright, Peter. Avon (Then and Now). Intro. Nora O.Howard. Arcadia Publishing, 2010.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

css.php