Oak Grove Schoolhouse 200th Anniversary!

 

   Going to school is an experience all children, past and present, share.  However, where children have gone to school has changed dramatically in the past 200 years.  Oak Grove Elementary School is very fortunate to have an example of a historic one-room schoolhouse on it's property, which celebrates it's 200th anniversary this year.  The school was built in 1812 and was originally located at the corner of Route 9 and Spring Road in the town of Poughkeepsie.  It was constructed of beams held together by pegs, bricks that were mortared together with mud, and a roof that comprised of tin with an overlay of slate.  The school had one teacher who taught approximately 20 students in grades 1st through 8th.

 

    The school closed it's doors to students in 1940 and fell into disrepair until 1971, when the school was offered for free by the property to anyone who would remove the building from the grounds. The Wappingers Central School District, along with local businesses, historical societies, civic groups and individuals, raised money to have the school relocated  and turned into an educational museum.  Robert Piggott, an alumnus of the one-room school and an industrial arts teacher at Roy C. Ketcham High School and his students were charged with dismantling the schoolhouse, moving it to its present location and reconstructing it to appear as it did in 1812. 

 

   Today the one-room schoolhouse is used by various Oak Grove classes during special events such as Colonial Day.  Tours are also available to groups wishing to learn more about local history.