125 years ago a school was not a school and a special event from the Delco Historical Society!!

This one room school house stood on Fairview Rd. in Woodlyn from the 1850's till  the early 2000's. It closed as a one room school when Woodlyn School was built in 1912. The teacher lived on the second floor.
 

Note: When the Penna. School Law came into existence in 1835 one room school houses were everywhere in Delaware County. The schools were originally "subscription" schools built  by local subscribers who raised money and elected their own school board. As the population of Delaware County increased more teachers were hired. It was not unusual for two teachers to teach in a one room school house. Prior to 1910 a teacher was considered a school. As weird as it sounds today that's the way the State of Penna. did it. When I first began working on Delco School histories I could not understand why there were so many schools until I realized that is the way schools were counted in the old days. A school was a teacher NOT a building.

SOME SCHOOL FIGURES.

What It Costs to Teach the Young Ideal How to Shoot.

                There are 31 school districts in Delaware County and 236 schools.  They are taught by 18 Male and 226 female teachers, for which an average salary of $6,087 is paid to the males and $4,319 to the females.  Last year the total receipts of the districts, including $18,655.54 as State appropriation, was $276,445.34, of which $258,090.60 were expended.  Of this amount the teachers received $100,215.78, new buildings and improvements cost $64,070.14, and fuel, collectors’ fees and other expenses cost $93,780.67.  The number of boys enrolled last year was 6,067; girls, 5,987, or 12,054 pupils in all, with an average attendance of 7,708.  The cost per scholar per month was $1.17.

                Chester City has 65 schools, 2 male teachers and 63 female teachers.  The number boys enrolled is 1,583; girls, 1,735, of a total of 2,260, with an average attendance of 90 per cent.  The total receipts last year were $64,457.69 (of which $6,036.02 was from the State) and the expenditures $64,029.17.  The amount paid for teachers’ salaries was $27,420.50.

                South Chester expended $8,143.50 for the salaries, or a total of $24,037.86 for the expense of maintaining the district.  The State appropriation was $1,268.28 and the receipts from other sources, $23,863.98.  The enrollment is 482 boys and 465 girls, with an average attendance of 82 per cent.

                The cost per scholar per month in Chester is 96 cents, and in South Chester $1.17 per pupil.  The tax in Chester is 5 mills and in South Chester 7 mills.

 Fully two fifths of our school houses are miserable, ill-contrived structures, and are wholly unfit for school purposes.  It is sad to have to report so many worthless buildings in Delaware County – a county too that is abundantly able to have her school affairs in the best condition possible without imposing an undue burden upon her people.  In no district of the county can there be found four such wretched specimens of school architecture as in Darby Township.  The school rooms of these are not only rough, uncouth and destitute of all refinement, but are as ill-adapted to teaching as can well be conceived.  The buildings, however, are better than the furniture, (if furniture it can be called.)

Women's Journey to Equal Rights 
live online conversation event hosted by Delaware County Historical Society

About this Event

This live conversation event will include Constitutional Law Professors Jim May and Alicia Kelly, both from Delaware Law School and equally instrumental in getting the state of Delaware to ratify equal rights for women. The event will be moderated by DCHS Board member, Stefan Roots. The three panelists, Dr. Merle Horowitz, Honorable Linda Cartisano and House Minority Leader for PA, Joanna McClinton will each talk about their career paths – challenges of being a woman in their various professional work arenas.

This event is free and open to the public. Please contact Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS) with any questions, info@padelcohistory.org or 610-359-0832.

To learn more about DCHS, make a donation or join as a friend, visit padelcohistory.org.