By Beth & Jorge Batlle
Skaneateles Town & Village Historians
The early settlers of the Town of Skaneateles, even when it was still part of the Township of Marcellus, realized how important an education was for the betterment of their children. An act by the state legislature in 1812, established the New York school system. This legislation required schools to be within walking distance of five year old boys and girls. Under good conditions, 20 to 30 minutes was considered a reasonable walking time.
As more and more people came into the area, many schools were built to serve this need. Schools with such names as Poverty Corners, Hen Coop, Peach Blow, West Hill, Thorne and Shotwell to name a few. There were also schools just outside the town line that served the students of Skaneateles. These included Shamrock, Clintonville, Hart Lot, Mud Coe, County Line and others.
General Robert Earl built the first school in Skaneateles, constructed of hewn logs, on the west side of the creek at Willow Glen, in 1798. The next school was built in Willow Glen on Old Seneca Turnpike, near the intersection of Jewett Road. It too was a log cabin built by Dr. Munger who, besides practicing medicine, taught school.
The early schools were not insulated buildings, and students often in the winter, not only wore their coats, but their mittens and overshoes as well during classes. Frost would be so thick on the windows that students would carve their names into it. But in spite of the cold, school never closed. Although attendance would be down, the teacher was always there.
Water was always available, with students often drinking from a common cup or dipper. Prior to that, in 1917, the advent of chemical toilets resulted in many of the toilet facilities being moved from the outhouse to inside the school building.
All grades were taught reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic. Student in grades 4, 5, 6, and 7 were taught English, geography and history. Teachers, besides preparing lessons for grades 1 to 7, were not only responsible for keeping the stove fire going, but also sweeping the school floor and shoveling the front entrance free of snow. Some even washed the windows. For all this, a teacher would in the early days, earn $10 per month for 24 weeks of school.
School days were broken up by visits from a music teacher, who taught singing and another who would give gym exercises. The district superintendent would visit each school three times a year to check up on the teacher and the students’ progress. Another frequent visitor was the school doctor who would gave the students their physicals and vaccinations.
In 1853, New York State passed the Union Free School Law. This act provided for a junior school of grades seven, eight and nine, and a high school of grades 10, 11 and 12.
In Skaneateles, in order to continue their education after the rural school, the older students needed to attend the village high school. To be closer to the school, girls often roomed with family or friends in the village in return for helping with the household chores. The boys had a harder time finding work in the village, and were also needed on the farm, so many of them simply walked.
The state, accepting joint responsibility for the training of the child along with the parents, felt that the same held true in the manner of transportation. With the advent of motorized vehicles, the State stepped in with more regulations.
The pickups should occur each morning and night, the State said. These pickups should be as near to the house as could be done conveniently, and students should not be required to leave home earlier that 3/4 of an hour before the school opened. Local schools still operating would provide a safe waiting place for students not directly picked up. The name of the school was required to be on the side of the bus, and to be heated in the winter time. And the bus driver was not to exceed 30 miles per hour. The xstate would provide half the transportation cost. This also meant that the State would have supervision over the vehicles used.
In 1930, Herbert Splane and Russell Lader contracted to run school buses to pick up those students in grade 7 and upward, and bring them to the Skaneateles School. In 1931, school busses first started transporting students from Shamrock Coon Hill and Spafford District #7 schools to Skaneateles High School. They also transported 12 high school students from the west side of the lake. Students who rode the busses were called “bus kids.” Later George Tallcot ran two buses, and George Bentley ran a third bus.
The state had passed a Central School District Law in 1925. A central school could provide a wider range of educational programs and provide specially equipped classrooms for the students in specific subjects. This would enhance the financial base of the central school and make teachers’ salaries more equitable.
However, it wasn’t until May 26, 1950 that a decision to centralize was put before the Skaneateles residents. Of the 903 residents who voted, the count was 826 for and 77 against. A new school board was also elected. Fred Fundus would become the chief school administrator, or what is called today, the superintendent of schools.
Centralization, however, separated some communities. In Skaneateles Falls, the (school) district line resulted in some students being sent to Elbridge, while others were bused to Skaneateles. Shepard Settlement and West Hill students, in the northeast section of the Town of Skaneateles, had already been included in the Marcellus School District when it centralized in 1938.
March 21, 1952, the high school, built in 1910, was destroyed by fire. The school already had a plan underway for a new high school up on the hill of East Elizabeth Street. Construction started in May of 1952. In September of 1953 the State Street School was opened on site of the former high school. In 1966 the Waterman School was opened, named after Belle Waterman who was a third grade teacher in the village school in 1902.