HPSUT Friendship School
The
Friendship School
This
historic property contains the circa 1930 Friendship School, a circa 1900 privy,
and a circa 1917 coal storage shed.
The Friendship School was originally donated in 1976 by William Wells, grandson
of Enoch Clouting to the Upper Township Bicentennial Committee during a time
when Upper Township was particularly interested in its earliest buildings. The
committee, headed by the late Curtis T. Corson, evolved to become the nucleus of
the Historical Preservation Society of Upper Township (HPSUT) in 1977. Virginia
M. Wilson was its’ first President.
The
history of the Friendship School begins when it was incorporated in May of 1831
with Jonathon Corson, Lewis Corson, and Seth Young as trustees. The students’
tuition was paid for by parents in 1830, but by 1869, public funding for schools
was established. In the 1862-63 school year, 52 students crowded into this 15’x
20’ structure, and of those students in the teacher’s roll book, 24 were
Corsons!
The
school itself is standing on its fourth known location! It was originally
located 6 houses southeast of its present location. It was used for classes
until it was replaced with a larger building in the 1860’s. The abandoned school
house later owned by resident, Lot Corson, became known as “Lot’s Temple”
because church services were held there. Then, it was moved to Enoch Clouting’s
farm where a corn crib was placed on one side. It is Enoch’s grandson who kindly
donated the school.
The
school building was in extreme disrepair when it was moved from the Clouting
property to the corner of Ocean Ave. and Shore Road.
According to an undated news article, “mere fragments of the (original)
building remained” although “some of the heavier corner posts were salvaged.”
Nevertheless, restoration of this Friendship School was researched and planned
by Kyle Fleetwood of Tuckahoe and James Wilson of Marmora; with assistance from
Matt Unsworth, Robert Entirkin, Curtis Corson III, Somers Corson, Marshall “Ted”
Behr, Guy Himmelberger, Harry “Hap” Folger and other members of the Bicentennial
Committee. It was completed in 1980.
All
replacement wood matched the original in size and material and great care was
taken to restore it to its original appearance. Locally sourced materials for
the restoration/reconstruction came from the Van Vorst sawmill in Petersburg,
the Hess sawmill in South Seaville and the Brewer sawmill in Dennisville.
Benches donated by Myra Clouting Biggs, were reproduced by Matt Unsworth. The
teacher’s desk is a reproduction also made by Matt Unsworth. Hardware for the
building was hand-wrought by Robert Entrikin of Petersburg. Although it does not
qualify for the State and National Registers listing because it retains little
original historic building fabric, the building is important to the historical
time line of Upper Township.
Also
on this site are two old frame buildings: a circa 1900 privy donated from the
property of the Seaville School on Kruk Drive and a circa 1917 coal/storage shed
donated from the Palermo School on Route 9. The
coal storage shed, was donated by Wes and Doris Nickerson with Jim and Nancy
Siegrist helping with its restoration. It was added to the property in 1993.
Three three-seat privy (outhouse) from the old unused Seaville School was
donated by Sharon Kruk in honor of her father, and was restored by Lewis
Albrecht and Jim Siegrist. It is a work of art (with a French style roof), but
is non-functional.
A
special item, the cedar flag pole, from which flew a U.S. flag that flew above
the capitol in Washington, DC, was donated by former Deauville Inn owners,
Walter and Gloria Carpenter in December of 1983. (Since replaced)
The
Friendship School was dedicated on September 10, 1983 by Virginia M. Wilson,
President of the Historical Preservation Society of Upper Township, Upper
Township Mayor Leonard Migliaccio, HPSUT members: Ebbie Unsworth and her son,
Matt Unsworth, and guest speaker, New Jersey State Senator, James R. Hurley.
Upper
Township continues to own and manage the property and the school, while HPSUT
members manage the inside and its activities. Each Upper Township Kindergarten
class is invited to the annual Kindergarten Day to learn what a student
classroom life is like in a one room school house in the early 1800’s.
[Main Source: Joan Berkey, A Survey of 80 Historic Buildings and
Sites in Upper Township Architectural Historian, and the Historical
Preservation Society of Upper Township, 2017.]
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Version Date: 23 Jun 2023
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The Historical Preservation Society of Upper
Township NJ Inc.
P.O. Box 658
Marmora, NJ 08223-0658
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Last Page Posting Date ~~
Thursday, July 27, 2023