NH's One-Room Rural Schools: The Romance & the Reality
Presenter: Stephen Taylor
#5 Smithville
A century ago hundreds of one-room schools dotted NH’s landscape and were the backbone of primary education for generations of children. (It is thought that New Ipswich once had 13 school houses, some of which are still standing, including the Historical Society.) Revered in literature and lore, they were beset with problems, chief among them financing and wide disparities among taxing districts to support local education. Teacher preparation and quality, curriculum, discipline, student achievement and community involvement in the educational process were also major concerns. Farmer, writer, reporter, and longtime scholar of the state's rural history and culture, Stephen Taylor explores the lasting legacies of the one-room school and how they echo today. He was also the founding executive director of the NH Humanities Council and served 25 years as Commissioner of Agriculture.
“NH's One-Room Rural Schools: The Romance & the Reality” - Stephen Taylor
A New Hampshire Humanities event hosted by New Ipswich Historical Society
When: Thursday, September 29 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: New Ipswich Historical Society (23 Main Street)
The presentation will follow our brief annual meeting.
Free and open to the public!
The 161st Children’s Fair
The 161st Children’s Fair was held on August 20, 2022. Mike Ordway performed songs for the Hayride participants. He also donated plants for the Garden Shop.
On this day - September 9, 1908
James Roger diary entry
9th (Wednesday)
Fair and sunny. David & Henry 2 hours in Cemetery and then cutting Hungarian grass in Jim Davis field, also getting horses feet put right in afternoon, then raked hay together. I called on Miss Lee in afternoon. Pulled up some old pea stakes in garden and fed some tomatoes to hens and chickens.
On this day - September 9, 1897
William Jurian Kaula diary - no entry
On this day - September 9, 2015
The Weber family completed cutting, splitting and stacking their supply of firewood in Smithville. How did you do that year?
My father lived on Page Hill at the end of Niemi Rd. He talked about skiing to school in the winter. The Smithville school would have been the closest one to Page Hill. It must have been tough to get back home. I suspect that skiing to school was only an occasional event.