It may be surprising to think, but in Hunterdon County there is a historic, well-preserved one room school house.
Walking into the school house, the expectation was to see a few old desks, a couple pieces of chalk and some old, musty books. However, it was like it was 7:45 in the morning, walking into modern school, preparing to learn. The preserved pencils, desks, books, the slate boards students wrote on were all there. It was as surreal as time traveling.
In 1849, a one room school house was built on only a quarter of an acre with a budget of just $400.
The school house was thriving. Hosting kids of all ages, with eighth graders seated in the back of the class and the younger students in first and second grade in the front, students helped each other when they didn’t understand a subject. Only a couple years later, the school burned down.
On March 28, 1979, the school house was rebuilt by Carl Kettler. With the influence of his previous teacher and the help of residents from Kingwood Township, he raised over $20,000 to rebuild the schoolhouse. When the school house was still lively, the school taught every subject, with the kids playing in the schoolyard for recess. Kids would occupy themselves by playing classic childhood games like Red Rover, Mother May I, Tag, Cops and Robbers and many more.
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The old chalk board, welcoming you to the school house
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The piano, used for friendly songs and student engagement
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The desks, nailed to the floor with a small pocket inside to keep books
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Old bandage and medicine boxes, tape measure, giant pen and pencil, spinning tops
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Old can of paper fasteners, paintbrush and pencils, bells, erasers, pencil sharpeners, ruler
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Preserved books, bottles and other trinkets
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An old slate board with chalk written on, hair clips
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Old water bottles and lunchboxes
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An old bowl with ladle
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Jordan Oldenburg, accompanied by Jasper, a retired service dog
Students who misbehaved were often punished by being made to do a humiliating dance. They would also stay after school banging out chalk erasers or writing lines continuously.
In class, students would learn about science and read in their English books. Older kids would help the younger children when needed and would write on old slate boards with chalk.
Since the building has no insulation, the only way to heat the building in the winter was the big cast iron stove. One of the school house members says when she went to school, while the building was still heating up, kids would keep all their winter gear on and sing songs and march around to keep themselves warm.
“No heating, no AC, and no plumbing,” president of Old Stones at Oak Summit Jordan Oldenburg said. “But we like it that way, because we want to maintain historical authenticity.”
Oldenburg would rather a one room school house over a modern day school.
“A one room school house is just a more intimate and nostalgic setting, being in an older school,” Oldenburg said.
Since the community was so small, there wasn’t much communication between moms or dads. Going to such a small school, it was almost like a meeting or in today’s words, a text message.
“The school was a central hub of the community,” Oldenburg said.
The one room school house is a piece of Hunterdon County history. The people who run it, take care of it and plan events preserve its history. You can find president Jordan Oldenburg on Facebook and Instagram at Oak Summit School or by email at Oaksummitschool@gmail.com to arrange a visit.
