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Home : Quarterly Archives : Volume 19 |
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Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society |
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Source: July 1981 Volume 19 Number 3, Pages 69–76 The Walker School In 1863 the Tredyffrin School District decided that a new school was needed in the northeast section of the township. The Pennsylvania public school system had been in operation for about twenty-five years, and the Diamond Rock School, a local, privately supported school, was soon to be closed. Accordingly, the School Board purchased, for $101.25, seventy-two perches (about half an acre) of land from Joseph B. Walker and his wife, Hannah, The property adjoined the farms of David Havard and Valentine Kugler. The site for the new school building had come into the possession of Joseph Walker and his wife on April 4, 1855, being a part of the land conveyed to them on that date by Ezekiah Potts and his wife, Johanna. According to an 1873 map of the area, the Walkers then owned two houses still standing just west of the covered bridge over Valley Creek at Valley Forge. Their property extended south to the Valley Creek, where it adjoined the Harry Wilson property (Lafayette's Quarters). The one-room Walker school house was built in 1863. It was located on "Parson Currie Road", a road which wound through what was later Chesterbrook Farm and north to Parson Currie's house, perhaps better known today as the quarters of Major General William Alexander, Lord Stirling, during the 1777-1778 encampment.
Deed conveying property for the Walker School Parson Currie Road no longer exists south of the school site, having been replaced by the present Yellow Springs Road. Vestiges of a road from the school north to Yellow Springs Road, however, may still be identified. West of the school, the road connected with the present Mill Road. Old School Board minutes tell us that on "8/22/66" a Proposition by Elwood Thomas at a previous meeting was again considered. It was "decided in the affirmative that the teachers be paid $1.50 per day for their services". Mr. David Roberts was employed to teach at the Walker School for the coming term. On motion at the previous meeting, it was resolved to levy a tax of four mills on the dollar upon the valuation of the District. It was also resolved that all schools in the district be opened upon the first Monday in September for a term of eight months. The school apparently was typical of other schools of that period, with a bell on the roof and outdoor sanitary facilities. The interior had the usual desks, nailed down, a stove, and a piano. A picture of Joseph Walker was on one wall. Miss Alice Wilson, who attended the school from 1898 to 1907, recalls that "the only heat in the school was a pot-bellied stove, around which we students would sit to get warm. After a few minutes, we returned to our seats and other students would sit on the benches to get warm. The stove did not really heat the room very well. Atlee Kirkner, a pupil from 1906 to 1913, remembers, "One day while Miss Busch was teaching, the school floor caught fire from an overheated heater, but it was easily put out." Charles S, Frank reminisced that he "used to take care of the furnace for heat, and carry the ashes out and dump them down in the woods. Also, he adds, "we used to take turns sweeping the floor and cleaning blackboards." Mrs. Kathryn Toner Burgents also notes, "The teacher and the pupils had to tend the furnace in the basement. Many times a day the cellar door in the floor had to be raised to do this." There was no source of water available to the school property. Wayne Kirkner, a student from 1907 to 1915, remembers that "My brother, Atlee, and I carried water from home, over the fields, for several years. We received $15.00 a year between us. It was a 40 quart milk can, carried every day, with a large wooden stick through the milk can handles. We held the stick on each end." Dorothy Wilson Robinson similarly recalls, "My older brother Charles was asked to carry water for the school. He got the water in a large milk can from our spring. One day we were part way to school when he realized he had no water. There was a stream coming down to the Valley Creek, so he filled the can and we proceeded on to the school. None of the Wilsons (four of us then) drank water that day! Charlie was paid $15.00 a year. I carried his lunch and books. He paid me $2.00 — the first money I ever earned. We did that for two years." Kathryn Toner Burgents also comments that "Drinking water was carried to school from a nearby spring, in a water bucket, by two of the boys", and adds, "A dipper was used by all to get a drink." In the minutes of the School Board in January 1894, it was noted that R. S. MacNamee, the Supervising Principal, reported, "On Wed., Jan, 24, 1894, in Company with the Secretary of the Board I visited the following 4 schools — Howellville, Presbyterian, Salem, & Walkers. I found the graded system well established in each of these schools and good work being done. A School Savings Bank System was further explained and the system was adopted at 3 of the 4 schools visited — namely Walkers, Presbyterian and Howellville." While the "graded system was well established", there was but one teacher for each of the schools. The school hours were from nine a.m. to four p.m., and the term from September to June. While the subjects taught in the eight grades were the customary ones, perhaps some variations in teaching methods did exist. There survives a song from the early 1870s, for example, enumerating all the presidents of the United States, which the pupils sang as a learning aid:
First Washington, Adams In October 1893 the West Chester Daily Local News carried the following account: Rowdyism in Tredyffrin Some persons who have made themselves reprobates, broke into the Walker School on Saturday night and spent Sunday in carousing on the premises. The teacher, Miss Emma Wersler, who had painted the door on Friday evening just before leaving, found it scratched and marked with chalk, the books tossed about, end ink poured on the floor. In spite of the fact that the Board has a standing reward of $50.00 offered for the apprehension and conviction of such marauders, the township of Tredyffrin seems to be affected by them more than other districts. For ten years, from 1898 to 1907, the teacher was Miss Emma Wersler, who lived on a farm just west of the school. Apparently she was an expert teacher, as well as a disciplinarian. Walker School pupils at that time often excelled the pupils in the other local schools. Other teachers recalled by former students include Miss Amelia Bell, Miss Esther Busch, Miss Anna Geary, Miss Eleanor Wilson, Mrs. Mary Dewees, and a Mrs. Malloy. Miss Anna Newbold came from Berwyn once a week to teach art, as did Miss Ida M. Pecht, to teach music. Atlee Kirkner recalls "the efficiency of the teachers in those days. Many people from the school ranked highest in the township." Art Colgan was highest in grades for the township at graduation in 1913, and Atlee Kirkner was second highest. Dorothy Wilson Robinson, a pupil from 1904 to 1911, writes that on one occasion "I must have been talking too much. I had to sit on the platform with a dunce cap on my head! Once the teacher called Elwood Irons up front and to bring his ruler. He broke it on the way. We giggled! She had one on her desk, which she used on him. The next morning his mother appeared. I can still see her, with arms akimbo, scolding the teacher. We all sat wide-eyed, watching." Lena Giovannini Palmieri, whose teacher was Mrs. Malloy, writes, "The only thing I remember, I didn't speak English, but I soon learned." Leonard Dewees remembers "Miss Gearly (I believe) in a shoving contest with a big negro boy. Broke furniture, etc. She ran him out the front door." Eleanor Wilson Dunwoody, who was a pupil at Walker School from 1901 to 1910 and later taught there, recalls that "as students we had debating teams, spelling bees, and did mental arithmetic problems."
Certificate presented to Wayne Kirkner upon completion of schooling at Walker School
THE WALKER SCHOOL : about 1912 Extra-curricular activities were varied and refreshingly innocent. Marjorie Burgents Barnett, a pupil from 1915 to 1921, writes, "We all sang together and played together, and ate our lunches together, sometimes out of doors in warm weather." Earle Durgents recalls, "We played games at school — fox and geese and baseball and other games", while Kathryn Toner Burgeats remembers that "boys and girls played baseball together. One of the boys hit the baseball over the school roof. It came down and hit the top of my head. I still played ball, day after day." Martha Dewees recalls another kind of ball game, "Playing Andy Over — one team threw a ball over the roof and the one catching it would run around and try to hit one of our side with the ball". Edward Tyson, a pupil from 1900 to 1908, remembers "fox hunts" over Cassatt's: "A boy (fox) was given a five minute start and we followed his tracks in the snow. R. Penn Smith also showed us how to catch a chicken — make a hole in a grain of corn and tie it with string. When the chicken swallowed it you pulled the chicken in." Eleanor Wilson Dunwoody remembers "the wild persimmon tree on the lane, and when a new student came to school we suggested that he or she taste the delicious wild persimmon. However, we made sure the new student ate a green persimmon!" On April 5, 1923 a raging storm destroyed the school. Perhaps the old school had outlived its usefulness, but many old timers were saddened by the inevitable result of the catastrophe. "It was Easter vacation when the roof blew off," writes Martha Dewees, "and the school closed forever. The bell tower and the bell were carried to the next field. The Lord was good to us that we were at home at the time." Elizabeth Kirkner Weaver writes, "I remember the cyclone very well — everything that happened. It blew our barn across the road into Cassatt's field (Chesterbrook), left our old white cow eating (and chained) peacefully in her stall." Five days later the School Board met. As a number of citizens were present, the Board heard their petitions before conducting the regular business. Mr. Peter Boland, representing the group of citizens who wished the Walker School repaired, read his petition, signed by a number of taxpayers. Mrs. Dewees then read a petition entreating the School Board to consolidate the schools and send the Walker School children to North Berwyn. Mr. Harstick read a report showing the financial advantages of consolidation, a saving of about $1,000, and, on the educational side, the far superior opportunities that could be offered students in a graded school. After a thorough discussion of the advantages and disadvantages on both sides, Mr. Sidney Morris moved that the Board act on the question of permanently bringing the children to the North Berwyn School and abandoning Walker School. Mrs. White seconded the motion, which was approved by a three to one vote, Mrs. White, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Morris voting "yes" and Mr. Toner voting "no". The reasons for closing the school, as reported in the Local for April 23, 1923, were "that the school was without water supply, unsanitary, insufficiently lighted, very isolated, and under the condition of being a one-room school, the children had far less advantages than in a graded school". The school then stood idle and empty until 1926. In that year, Robert C. Ligget purchased approximately 240 acres, including the old school building, which he converted into a farmer's house. Parson Currie Road was, by that time, no longer used for a public road. In a County Deed Book of January 1950 is recorded "an agreement between Eleanor Cassatt Laird and R. C. Ligget, allowing a right of way for erection and maintenance and operation of poles, wires, and appurtenances across the Laird property. Also an easement for access to Mill Road, subject to certain restrictions and conditions: the premises to be used only for a dwelling, only a single family, not more than three stories on a lot not less than two acres. This to stand for twenty years". When the Pennsylvania Turnpike was constructed, it cut the Walker School off from the rest of the Ligget acres. Shortly afterwards, in October 1952, the old school and two and a half acres were sold to Harry L. Oneil for $17,500. His daughter, Miss Margharita Larimer Oneil, has lived in the house for the past twenty-seven years. Although the interior has been remodeled, its exterior still looks much like it did over a hundred years ago, when the Walker School was a happy center for its many young and enthusiastic pupils. Information was received from the following former students of the Walker School:
A special thank you to all of them. |
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