Museum Tour: The Schoolhouse
Frank B. Rogers in front of the Princeton Junction Parsonage, 1912
Overview
Records suggest that this building, sitting at the entrance to the Schenck Farmstead, was constructed some time between 1820 and 1849 at 297 Clarksville Road. Because the West Windsor community of Grovers Mill contained no school, it is likely that this institution served students from there and Princeton Junction. During its operation, it was referred to as the "Princeton Junction Parsonage." Like other early schools in the area, this building consisted of one room and served students of a variety of ages. As boys often worked on their farms every season but winter, it reputedly sometimes took them until the age of 25 to finish 8th grade! The school shut down in 1917 due to the opening of Dutch Neck and Penns Neck Schools.
When the property owner desired to construct a larger residence in the mid-1990s, the school was relocated to the Schenck Farmstead at 50 Southfield Road. It now serves as a memorial to the township's earliest educational efforts. Inside the schoolhouse are a myriad of artifacts from centuries of education within the township - from furniture, to drawings, to school supplies. Visit the farmstead and be transported back in time!
Records suggest that this building, sitting at the entrance to the Schenck Farmstead, was constructed some time between 1820 and 1849 at 297 Clarksville Road. Because the West Windsor community of Grovers Mill contained no school, it is likely that this institution served students from there and Princeton Junction. During its operation, it was referred to as the "Princeton Junction Parsonage." Like other early schools in the area, this building consisted of one room and served students of a variety of ages. As boys often worked on their farms every season but winter, it reputedly sometimes took them until the age of 25 to finish 8th grade! The school shut down in 1917 due to the opening of Dutch Neck and Penns Neck Schools.
When the property owner desired to construct a larger residence in the mid-1990s, the school was relocated to the Schenck Farmstead at 50 Southfield Road. It now serves as a memorial to the township's earliest educational efforts. Inside the schoolhouse are a myriad of artifacts from centuries of education within the township - from furniture, to drawings, to school supplies. Visit the farmstead and be transported back in time!
