Schoolhouse is a blast from the past

BARKHAMSTED — The Center Schoolhouse, located on Center Hill Road, was open to the public on Sunday, June 29. The one-room schoolhouse was originally two stories when it was built in 1821.It still has the same historic charm that it had over 190 years ago with 1880s textbooks that students in the neighboring areas used to 1920s classic typewriters.During the early 1800s, children would work on bench-styled seats, while in the mid-1800s, a combination desk would be more commonly utilized. Inside the schoolhouse is a water bucket that a student would carry across the street and fill with water each recess and games the children played during that time. The Center Schoolhouse was originally located in Barkhamsted Hollow, which was the center of town until 1937.In 1937 the Metropolitan District Commission created a reservoir which led the townspeople to depart and Barkhamsted Hollow to be submerged under the reservoir.The school was converted into a storage shed guarding the edge of the newly built reservoir. From 1980 to present, the schoolhouse has been in the Barkhamsted Historical Society’s possession, allowing for renovations to take place and preserving the history of their town. “We have been working to recreate a school environment so it becomes a museum for early American education and a museum of education as practiced in Barkhamsted over the years,” Historical Society volunteer Mike Day said.This building was originally a district school, one of 12 in the town that was separately operated.Students ranged from kindergarten to late teens and each student brought their own textbooks, starting with basic arithmetic, reading and spelling, then continuing where they left off the previous school year.The teacher would focus on each group of children separately, having the children work independently while they worked with another group of students. Most of the teachers had just finished school themselves and had no special preparation for teaching. By researching the past, the Historical Society recreates the life of an early American student. Through much research on the curriculum and lifestyle of the time period, the schoolhouse serves as a capsule of the past, designed with an informal tour that targets the individual interest of each person who visits. “In some respects it’s still a school,” Day said. “The main purpose of the schoolhouse now is to show you how far education has come, what life was like in Barkhamsted in the past and to give you a better appreciation for the challenges people had back in those days.” The schoolhouse reflects and teaches in its own way the history of previous American education. Even though events have been held since the late 1990s, the schoolhouse has only recently been open on a regularly based schedule. “We have had a regular schedule for three to four years, before that we would open it up when the third grade classes visited or a special occasion,” Historical Society vice-president Paul Hart said. “The schoolhouse keeps us in touch with our history,” Day said. “It is important for kids who for the most part do not have a sense of history. History has shaped each person in so many ways, as our past is always important in facing the future. It’s an inspiration for the future rather than just living in the moment.”The Center Schoolhouse is open every last Sunday of the month.For more information go to the Barkhamsted Historical Society’s website at www.barkhamstedhistory.org.