The Romance of Norwalk

By 1870, the number of pupils in the Union or Franklin school had grown to 758 and it became necessary to provide some manner of taking care of them all. It was decided to build another school. In such manner did the Concord school on Concord st. come to be built, its three rooms be¬ ing opened to pupils in the fall of 1871. It cost not quite $10,000. In 1886 the Concord school was enlarged from three to eight rooms. But it was not long before more room was needed and the year 1888 found the school again cramped for space. Many wanted to build a new school; but others objected. Matters dragged along for some years, first one room, then another being opened until in 1897, three rooms in the Knudsen building, two in the hat factory of Alden Solmans, who is now president of the South Nor¬ walk Savings Bank, and one in Arion Hall were in operation as parts of the school. Returning to Franklin school, in 1873, a wooden addition was made, changing the building from a five to a nine room school and later, in 1894, with a second wooden addition, to a ten room building with an assembly hall. In 1897 a brick addition was built to the Franklin school and the whole building was remodeled. The place now houses both the 254 ROMANCE OF NORW'ALK Franklin elementary and the Franklin junior high schools. Portable school rooms have been added recently. There are now 20 rooms in total. The Five Mile River district of Norwalk, which in earlier days concerned itself with the western end of the city, in¬ cluded the West Norwalk, Brookside and Rowayton sections. It supported, during the nineteenth century, three schools: the North Five Mile River, or West Norwalk school; the Middle Five Mile River or Brookside school; the South Five Mile River or Rowayton school. These schools, which, during the early half of the 19th century were under the jurisdiction of the Darien School society were taken over by the town of Norwalk, after the state had abolished all school societies in 1856. The North Five Mile River school, now the West Nor¬ walk School, has an interesting history. The existing records began in 1841. That there was a school in the district be¬ fore this date is evidenced by the fact that in the year 1841 under date of September 25 it was voted to erect a new building as the old had become too dilapidated. The di¬ mensions were to be 18 by 22 feet with ten foot posts. The building was finished October 1841 and cost just $266.61. In 1858 the building was enlarged. In 1872, the old building having now become too small, it was decided to build a third school, the expense of which was not to exceed $2,500. When it was completed the old schoolhouse was sold to the highest bidder for at least $245. In 1877, the name North Five Mile River school was changed to West Norwalk School. In the summer of 1926, the West Nor¬ walk school was remodelled, the building being the same which was erected in 1872. The first teacher mentioned in connection with the West Norwalk school was Miss Frances A. Selleck who in 1843 taught the “summer school” and re¬ ceived the salary of nine dollars a month for her labors. One of the oldest schools in local history is the Brookside school, once known as the Middle Five Mile River School, near the intersection of Flaxhill road and the road from SCHOOLS 255 New Canaan to Rowayton. The exact age of the original Brookside school, we do not know but we do know that it antedated the year 1847, f°r Samuel Richards Weed, at the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Norwalk in 1901, spoke of being a pupil in the Brookside school in 1847. The present Brookside school is a building of the better rural type, of two rooms, accommodating about 50 pupils. The history of the Rowayton elementary school, formerly known as the South Five Mile River School, goes back a considerable time. The district was organized in 1820 and a small schoolhouse about 12 by 15 feet was erected. There were 12 scholars at the time, some of whom: had desks and some of whom had nothing but slab seats. The teacher re¬ ceived $16 a month and boarded round at the homes of the different neighbors. The first schoolhouse stood just east of what was known for many years as the Andrew Bell homestead. The property, which is still known to many in Rowayton by that name, was located on a triangle be¬ tween Jacob and Cudlipp sts. The old house stood on a corner piece of land which pointed into the intersection of Jacob st., Rowayton ave., and Hunt st. In 1848, the second schoolhouse was built, this time being placed on the river bank, opposite the Raymond cemetery. It was larger and more comfortable than the first. There are still among us, Norwalkers who went to this Rowayton school. At one time Frederick Sterling Lyon, the grandfather of Andrew Lyon, on the staff of the Post Telegram in Bridgeport and of M iss Mary Lyon of 126 Flax Hill road, was principal of the school and was known as a stern disciplinarian. The present school building was erected at a cost of $10,000, in¬ cluding the cost of the grounds, in 1890, on its present site, on Rowayton ave., near the intersection of Witch Lane. It includes four rooms and accommodates about 100 pupils. A wooden frame building erected about 40 years ago is the Roosevelt or North Center school on Newtown ave. The school contains just four rooms. There was a school in the district in 1853. Marvin school, a substantial brick 256 ROMANCE OF NORWALK building of eight rooms, was erected in 1900 on property on Gregory boulevard between Second and Third sts. Pre¬ vious to this time, classes were held in vacant rooms in a nearby building. The Broad River school dates back to 1861. In that year a wooden building 28 feet long and 22 feet wide was erected, costing only a little over $600. George L. Finney was the first teacher. In 1924 the present $30,000 fireproof brick building was erected on New Canaan ave., north of Silver- mine ave. There are four rooms with all improvements, the registration now being nearly 100 pupils. When the new school was built, the old one was taken over by the Broad River Community club and made into a clubhouse. Shailor B. Walkley of Broad River, who retired last June after 51 years as a teacher, 37 of which were spent in this city, was principal of the Broad River school when there were only 25 pupils, about a quarter of the present number. The Winnipauk school was once known as the Northwest school. It has been housed in a variety of buildings. The first, it is thought, was built previous to 1800, probably about 1790, on a piece of property just north of the large gate leading to what was once known as the Butterworth barn on the Butterworth property where now lives Guiseppe Scalisi, shoemaker of 377 Main ave. The first school was a one story structure made of wood. Logs of wood, burned in a stone hearth, furnished heat for the building. The furniture consisted of rough board desks around three sides of the room and seats or benches made of half logs with the flat surface up, the rounded surface, into which legs were driven for support, being down. The building was used for school purposes until 1836, when it was made over into a dwelling house. The second schoolhouse, erected in the year 1836, was also one story high but was of brick, about 20 by 35 feet in size. It was erected on a triangular plot “formed by the three roads just south of the Norwalk mills and north of the Orcutt store and about 15 feet east of the Danbury and Norwalk railroad track,” says an old SCHOOLS 257 account. The Orcutt store, which has long since passed on, stood about where the railroad siding platform of the Norwalk Tire and Rubber Co., now is located. This build¬ ing boasted a lovely belfry, but for some reason, no bell. The building was later sold at public auction for $100. It was torn down about 50 years ago, it is believed. The third and present school house is a substantial building of granite, erected in 1868 at a cost of $8,000 on Main ave., near the intersection of Belden Hill ave. This school is built on a hill so that the rear of the upper rooms is nearly level with the ground outside. The building with its three rooms accommodates something over a hundred pupils. The present Over River school on Academy st. is quite old, the date of the erection being unknown. It is of wood and houses a manual training shop and stock rooms. The four class rooms are on the second floor. The Putnam school on Franklin st., near Clay, is an old fire house, not owned by the school department but rented from the dis¬ trict. It contains four rooms and accommodates about 150 pupils. The Knudsen school on Chestnut st., in the rear of the Concord school is another old frame building, the date of which is not known although it is thought to be previous to the year 1897. It is believed to have been built by Mr. Knudsen of Denmark who came here in 1865 and whose wife ran a select school on Fifth ave., New York. Mr. Knudsen was quite a philosopher. When asked why he erected the building, which was not in the beginning used as a school, he said he did not know, that he had the money and the Lord had the idea. For some time Mr. Knudsen gave lectures on astronomy in the hall. On the little hill which lies between Veno Court and Wood st., back of the Concord school, he built himself an observatory where he conducted his experimental work. Later, the Knudsen building was given to the district for school purposes. It contains seven rooms. The Lincoln elementary school on the corner of Concord ROMANCE OF NORWALK 258