LITTLE
BRITAIN—It was known for years as Mt. Airy School, but when
the Town of New Windsor was divided into school districts in 1814,
No. 4 was called Center School. If you should visit it on a windy
day you would know why its unofficial name was Mt. Airy. It is
thought that when Jacob Schultz built his fine stone house on
land he bought from John Denniston, he named his place Mt. Airy,
and the name spread to the region and the school. Though its
school days are over, Mt. Airy School continues as an attractive
dwelling in a lovely yard.
Ruttenber and Clarke say in their "History of Orange County" in the chapter on New Windsor, "The first entry in regard to Public Schools is at the annual election in 1796, when David Dill, John Dill, Daniel Borden, John Denniston and Francis Crawford were elected school commissioners."
The school is first mentioned in 1804. The New Windsor Presinct Journal Page 207 noted that the road commissioners had made a new district of the road leading from the town of Cornwall near Bethlehem past the house of Enos Chandler to the Little Britain Road … and likewise the road leading from the school house on John Denniston’s land to the Goshen Road …This is dated March 22, 1804. That seems to indicate that the school was close to the corner of the Mt. Airy and Bethlehem Roads as we call them now.
The Presinct Journal, Page 122 has this first record of school organization in New Windsor. "At the meeting of the commissioners of schools for the town of New Windsor at the house of Henry Cropsy for the purpose of dividing the said town into school districts, the meeting was held on the 18th day of September 1814 and the following districts were made: (nine districts at first, then ten, then eight). Center School district No. 4 near Thomas Fulton’s is to be composed of the following families, Isaac Belknap 3rd, Patrick McCashin (sp?), Enos Chandler, Thomas Fulton, Linas McCabe, Robert J. Fulton, John Denniston, John Woodruff, John Woodruff, Jr., Saml McCoun, Francis Quinn, Michael Smith, Daniel Clemmons, John Clemmons, Jesse Wood, Isaac Denniston, Moses Vance, Thomas B. McDowel."
It would take a long search to locate all of these homes, but a few are easy to find. Isaac Belknap 3rd lived in the stone house still standing near Brown’s pond. The Chandler place is at a bend in Mt. Airy Road, not far south of the Little Britain Road. Harold Baxter on Mt. Airy Road lives on a Fulton place. Fred Fayo lives on the John Denniston farm. The Isaac Denniston farm was on Jackson Ave. where the O. and W. RR later crossed the road and named it Denniston’s crossing. The Thomas Be. McDowel farm, even the same house, is now the home of Coulton Waugh. Some of the children had to walk cross lots to school, or go a long way around on the roads.
The office of the town historian of New Windsor has two early record books of this school. The Minutes Book begins "1824. At a meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of School District no. 4 in the town of New Windsor called by Trustees of said district on the twenty ninth day of November A D 1824. Jacob Schultz chairman, David Chandler clerk, when the following persons were chosen as Trustees: Jacob Schultz, John Woodruff, Thomas Clemence. Collector, Jacob Schultz. When the following resolutions were moved and carried – Resolved that a tax be raised to purchase fuel necessary for the school. Resolved that 10 dollars be raised for that purpose. Resolved that the annual meeting be on the first Tuesday of November."
That is the whole record of the 1824 meeting, reported in beautiful script. Nothing was said about money for the teacher’s salary. Some years only $5 needed to be raised. Year after year this same business was done – officers chosen and amount of tax decided upon "for wood and repairs." The wood was for fuel, probably for a fireplace.
The 1828 meeting was held at the schoolhouse, the one in use in 1804 and maybe long before that date. It was the first of three buildings.
From year to year the officers changed a bit, but some served often. There were not many available. At a number of the annual meetings there were only seven voters present. Besides those of the 1824 meeting, these names appear in the early years: Robert J. Fulton, John D. Schultz, William H. Denniston, John C. Denniston, Isaac Denniston, Thomas J. Fulton, Alexander Mansfield.
At the 1829 meeting there was this important decision: "Resolved that there be a tax upon the district of $220 for the purpose of building a school house on the ensuing season."
At a special meeting in September 1830 it was "Resolved that the trustees be empowered to expend $14 public money on a quarter schooling commencing Oct. and if necessary in order to make a lawful report to appropriate the remainder also to that use." This is the first mention of public money.
At the annual meeting November 2, 1830 it was reported that the new school had cost only $218 so they had two dollars left over.
Not until 1850 did they have a free school, and then for six months in the summer. Until then, the teacher had to collect fees from the pupils. This is why only a few dollars had to be raised by tax each year.
In 1867 they decided to have school in the winter also, and bought a stove. The fireplace might have been enough for the cool days of spring and fall, but not even a stove could keep the schoolhouse warm enough in the winter. Mary Frances Fulton in 1868 and 1869 got chilblains so badly from the cold floor that she never got over them.
In 1869 they began to think about another new school, a brick building. The exact specifications are given, interesting, but too long to repeat here. The brickwork would cost $390, the work to be done by C. G. Howser. The carpenter work $350 by J. M. Miller, Mr. R. Ward was called upon to say that he would charge the district for a new site, not over an acre. He proposed $100, but charged less.
Mr. Ward was the owner of the former Schultz property which had been John Denniston land before that. The vote was 12 to 2 for a new school and unanimous to change the site. The new school cost $1002, furniture $175, and they sold the old school for $20. The land bought from Mr. Ward joined the original schoolyard, which must have been small. The first and second buildings stood near the corner of the roads.
Fred Fayo says that when he went to school, they would find stones, many of them whitewashed, in the corner near the two roads. This would indicate the site of the second building, and the first one was there too, as the road commissioners noted. By buying additional land, they located the brick building back from both roads, and had a nice schoolyard at side and front.
The first teacher in the new school was Miss Martha Denniston. Mary Denniston taught a few years later.
The Account Book of School District No. 4 Town of New Windsor begins with the new school in 1870. When teachers began to be paid by the school district, they were paid very little. In the 1870’s $6 per week for 30 weeks was paid to some, $7 to others. In the 1880’s the school year was lengthened to a few weeks over thirty, but the salary stayed at $7 until 1900.
As in all the district schools, some teachers stayed only a year. Teachers who stayed for several years at Mr. Airy were Anna M. Gaunt, Georgia Fulton, Anna Bell Knapp. Miss Knapp received $8 per week in 1905, but was paid all of $13.50 by 1919. Mt. Airy school did not pay their teachers less than other districts. This was the accepted wage.
The last teacher was Mrs. Ethel Crome. She taught the last three and a half years the school was kept open. It closed in June 1945.
After that, all pupils were sent to Cornwall by Contract. Mrs. Crome was asked why the school was closed, and she answered that it was a small school, so it was cheaper for the district to contract with Cornwall. Besides, it was the trend of the times. Not all of the Mt. Airy people were happy about this. This is much to be said in favor of the old district schools in the home community.
Mt. Airy School stood idle for five years until it was sold to Mrs. Knox in 1950. The deed reads, "Conveyed to Madeline Knox by Roderick D. Templeton, sole trustee of common school district No. 4 Town of New Windsor, State of New York, August 15, 1950." Mrs. Knox converted it to a dwelling and sold it to the Bartons in 1955.
District No. 4 continued until 1963, with a trustee, and the pupils sent to Cornwall by contract. In 1963 it was annexed to the Cornwall school system.
The Town of New Windsor still has schools within its boundaries, but it has lost control of all of them. Districts No. 1, 2, 3 and 5 are in the Newburgh system, No. 4 in Cornwall, No. 6, 7 and 8 in Washingtonville. Those early school commissioners would surely be amazed at this.
Created by Elizabeth Finley Frasier
March 7, 2003
