District 3 School
Posted on: September 8, 2021 - 10:11am
It seemed only fitting to share this school themed throwback as it's back to school time!The District Three schoolhouse was built in 1853 to replace the original wooden schoolhouse located across the road, which burned. Later distinguished as Cumberland Center Primary, it housed one of the largest classes in the area.
Rita McCloskey recalls the schoolhouse when E. K. Sweetser taught in the 1880s, “with its double seats and desks, the two stoves for warmth in winter, the teacher’s ready bell, and that pail of water with the old familiar dipper shared by all.”
The photo of the students was taken in 1939, a decade before the school closed and became the new Town Hall from 1951 to 1975. Following a fire in 1955, the building was renovated and later became the Cumberland Police Department. Today it houses...any guesses?