Read time: 5 min.

Not long ago, I wrote about a drive through Delaware County with Grandma, Mom, and Aunt Jan that recreated the 2002 trip that turned me into a full-blown schoolhouse freak. Just like Mom did twenty-four years earlier, I documented the schools we passed with her Sony Mavica FD-75, a gloriously obsolete digital camera that stored its photos on floppy disks. Naturally, I also snapped backup shots with my iPhone. Here they are.

This is the 1874 Corinth schoolhouse, District 3 in Monroe Township. Under the incorrect assertion that it’s the only brick schoolhouse in Delaware County, a 501(c)3 is raising $52,000 to restore it for the second time. I’ve written about it a lot lately, but nevertheless, mom and grandma and I stopped by more than twenty years ago, so I had to take a photo.

The two-room Cammack school served District 2 in Mt. Pleasant Township. Built in 1912, the building closed in 1936 and was sold to a tool and die shop five years later. There’s some controversy about where a previous structure stood that I think I solved. Today, though, the building is home to a small engine repair service. 

The Wheeling schoolhouse in Washington Township’s District 2 was built in 1891. It closed in 1925 and has progressively deteriorated over the years. I’ve been told the building has been purchased in recent months by a new owner who intends to restore it. 

Union Township’s District 6 schoolhouse, Nixon, was built around 1884. It closed in 1902 and was mostly destroyed in a fire ninety-eight years later. The building is visible for most of the year, but its surviving walls were nigh on impossible to see when we puttered past. 

The Center schoolhouse, Union Township’s District 4, got its name from its location in the middle of the township and was built around 1880. It looks a little rough today, but doesn’t appear to have depreciated much since I last took a photo in 2021.

Niles Township’s District 3 schoolhouse was known as Wingate and, later, Oak Grove. Remarkably, it’s still owned by the township and is undergoing restoration! Unfortunately, that project has meant its original bell and cupola have been removed. Here’s hoping they come back soon.

Albany’s East Side school was built between 1894 and 1899 to serve the expanding community. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long and closed by 1910. It’s been used for storage, as a home, and as a body shop over the years. 

The frame Valley College schoolhouse was erected to serve Delaware Township’s District 9 in the 1890s. After it closed in 1906, the building was used as a barn. Unfortunately, it’s deteriorated substantially over the last few years. It’d be near the top of any most-endangered list. 

The Smithfield schoolhouse in Liberty Township’s District 8 is one of the best-known in Delaware County. Built in 1864, it’s also one of the oldest. The school closed in 1906, then served as a grocery and gas station until 1962. Today, it’s been renovated and expanded into a home. 

Monroe Township’s District 7 school probably dates to the 1880s and, along with a nearby cemetery, is pretty much all that remains of the village of Macedonia. It closed in 1920 and appears to be used as a barn.

The Lincoln schoolhouse was built in 1886 for Mt. Pleasant Township’s District 3. It closed in 1924 and was converted to a home in 1930. It’s been enlarged over the years but remains a dwelling. 

Finally, Salem Township’s White Oak schoolhouse served District 1. Built in 1876, it served until 1919. Today, like many, it’s used as a home. 

It’s important to periodically survey the county’s schoolhouses. There’s something comforting about the fact that so many are still hanging on, even if this is just a fraction. Some have been restored, some are collapsing, and others have been stretched, patched, or repurposed almost beyond recognition, but they’re still there. For me, they stopped being ordinary old buildings a long time ago. They became landmarks tied to memory, history, and -most importantly- curiosity!