One-Room Schoolhouses
Although this building is located on the west side of Susquehanna Trail at Raintree Road today, the original school was located across the street at a meeting house rented by the Board of School Directors through an agreement with the teacher, George W. Aughenbaugh. Circa 1850, the State of Pennsylvania had appropriated $100 to help open local schools in Manchester Township, which provided the funds for this rental agreement. The school building that stands today is estimated to have been built in 1870 and it was a three bay building. It is now a modified residence.
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Center Square Schoolhouse is a four-bay building located on Church Road near Sinking Springs Road. Built circa 1885, it operated until 1921 when it was closed for unknown reasons. In 1941, it was sold to the adjacent Grace Lutheran Church, which has used it to host Girl and Boy Scout meetings, as well as for storage. To this day, it is still owned by Grace Lutheran, and is the only one-room schoolhouse in Manchester Township to have not been converted into a private residence. Efforts are underway to raise funds for its preservation, as it is currently structurally unsound. For more information, visit this site.
This one-room schoolhouse was referred to as a “four-bay building,” as it had four bay windows. The Eisenhart School was located on the west side of Lewisberry Road where it meets the Susquehanna Trail at the crest of the hill across from Oerman’s Garage. Eisenhart’s school operated until 1939 when the six-room Roundtown school (located near the current Roundtown Elementary at 570 Church Rd) opened to consolidate local one-room schools. During its last year of operation, Mr. Altland was the teacher at Eisenhart’s. He later became the principal at Roundtown Elementary.
After it was closed, the Eisenhart school became a private residence. It was owned by the adjacent Bentzel farm. When the Bentzel farm was sold in the late ‘80s to be developed into the current Coldspring neighborhood off Stillmeadow Road, the building was bought by the Oermans across the road. A few years later, it was demolished to build a private residence on the site.
After it was closed, the Eisenhart school became a private residence. It was owned by the adjacent Bentzel farm. When the Bentzel farm was sold in the late ‘80s to be developed into the current Coldspring neighborhood off Stillmeadow Road, the building was bought by the Oermans across the road. A few years later, it was demolished to build a private residence on the site.
This three-bay flat-topped schoolhouse is located on the west side of Greenbriar Road north of Church Road. It is known that a letter was written in 1848 from local residents denying to the School Board that a school building was used as a free school. It can be assumed that this building is the Foust school. The building that is seen today was built later than this time but it may be on a different plot of land. This building has now been modified into a residence with a second story.
The Glade’s School house is a former two-room school in Springettsbury Township at the intersection of Druck Valley Road and Trout Run Road. Nearby was a coal shed, which students would travel to to gather more fuel for the stove. Glade’s had no running water, so water was carried in buckets from a neighbor’s house. Glade’s also sported a bell in its tower, which was used to call students to class. One Halloween, recalls a student from the 1930s, as a prank, the students snuck up and put a bag over the clapper to muffle the bell.
Since 1952, the school has been an auction house, and has had four different owners. Just recently, in 2013, it was sold again, this time to Ben Stambaugh, a local businessman. Today, the school has just one room, but one can still tell where the wall was. It also has its original hardwood floors.
Since 1952, the school has been an auction house, and has had four different owners. Just recently, in 2013, it was sold again, this time to Ben Stambaugh, a local businessman. Today, the school has just one room, but one can still tell where the wall was. It also has its original hardwood floors.
This three-bay building is located on the west side of Millcreek Road at Raintree Road. It was considered to be a one-time frame school building until after 1894 by the teacher that taught there. It is still standing today and is now a modified residence.
The Lightner school that stands today is a two-room building constructed to replace the one-room Lightner’s Schoolhouse. The one-room school stood near the Interstate 83 / George Street / Lightner Road Exits. It is believed that this building may have been wooden, which is unusual among early schools, but this remains unconfirmed due to the inability to determine material from the early photograph. It was torn down when the interstate went in.
The current Lightner School was built in 1927. Grades 1 - 4 were taught in one room, with grades 5 - 8 in the other. In 1946, grades 7 and 8 were removed, followed by the removal of grades 5 and 6 in 1949. Central York School District expanded the building in 1955. It is now privately-owned, functioning as a private educational facility. |
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This school was located on Memory Lane Extended in Springettsbury Township. A former student recalls walking half a mile to the school, no matter what the weather was like. On the days when the weather was very cold, the students would sit as close as possible to the stove that was located in the center of the room. They even heated soup over the stove for lunch, but only the older kids were allowed to do this. Water had to be carried to the classroom from next door and only one person could go into the outhouse at a time. During lunch, the children would play in the nearby woods, swinging from vines over a stream, or they could go to the store just across the street and buy ice cream for only five cents.
The Pleasureville school is a two-story three-bay building constructed in 1870. Part of the Pleasureville Historic District, it is notable for its Greek-revival style. Sporting a gabled roof with cornice returns, it reflects the conservative styles of York County, as its architecture is relatively simple and plain. The Pleasureville School housed both primary and secondary students, drawing pupils from two nearby smaller schools. By 1929, the Pleasureville school had become outdated, as a new, four-room building now housed the area’s students. Today, the school is distinctive as being the only brick building in the Pleasureville historic district. It has since been converted into duplexes, during which the main door was bricked in, and two new doors, one for each side, were constructed. For more information about the Pleasureville historic district, visit this site.
Another four-bay building, the Springdale Schoolhouse is located on the east side of Greenbriar Road, to the North of the intersection with Brandywine Lane. In the summer, an identifying landmark is the Osage Orange tree to its South, which litters the shoulder of the road with its fruit. Springdale has now been converted into a private residence and painted white after standing empty for a while. The date of its construction is known only to be after 1860.