Scituate Schools Long Ago

In the 1700’s, before schools were built, children were taught in different homes. In Scituate, there were nine home schools in 1740.

In the 1800’s, schools were first built in Scituate. There were 16 one-room schools, two 2-room schools, and one 3-room school. These old schools held kindergarten to sixth grade. Students were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. They used blackboards for writing and they used chalk to write. There were 19 school districts in Scituate in the 1800’s. In the year 1846, there were 797 students in Scituate. The following year, there were 840 students. There were 21 teachers. The teachers got paid $24-$40 a month.

Trimtown School was the first school built in Scituate. It was built in 1808 by the Union School Company. It was district #15. The school was located on Trimtown Road and was the poorest school in town. It was a two-session school. It was originally located at the site of the present Scituate Middle/High School. This school was moved a little down the road in 1925 and is now privately owned. It is a garage today!

The North Scituate Academy was built in 1825. When it was first built, there were no trees around it. It was named school district #2. It was located on the west side of Greenville Road, halfway between Danielson and Hartford Pikes. It was a two-room school. It held seventy pupils. In the ceiling, there is a miniature solar system. It is admired by the people of Scituate.

Over the years, North Scituate Academy’s name and building have changed. Now the North Scituate Academy is the North Scituate Community House and is still on West Greenville Road. There was an addition put onto the back of the school in later years.

Potterville or “Potter’s School” was a one-room school. The building was built in 1852 after the lease was recorded. In the winter, Angie Rethbun taught. The spring term was taught by Hattie A. Potter. George Hopkins taught there at a later time. Potterville School was district #7. It had 26 pupils. It was (and is still) located on the south side of Old Plainfield Pike. It is now used as a community house like the North Scituate Community House, only it is the “Potterville Community House.” It still looks just like a one-room school.

Today, there are no more schools held in one-room schoolhouses in Scituate. We have schools that are bigger and they can hold a lot of people. The Trimtown School is now used as a garage and is owned by a family. The Potterville School and North Scituate Academy are now owned by the town and are used as community houses.

The Original Trimtown School

The original North Scituate Academy is seen in this historic postcard.

The North Scituate Community House 2017

Potterville Schoolhouse as seen from Old Plainfield Pike

The boys lined up at the left-hand door. The girls lined up at the right-hand door when the teacher rang the bell.

The outhouse has a boys’ and girls’ room. Each side has two seats!

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© 2017 Paula DiLuglio