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Markelville Schoolhouse |
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Markelville Schoolhouse |
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"The Markelville Country Schoolhouse is located on a hill in the small village about five miles from Newport. It was begun a hundred years ago [ca 1830].
The school is a small, red brick building with a tin roof. There is a large bell on the roof, but when it was used in later years the rope broke and the teacher used a hand bell to call the children. Inside there were shelves for lunchboxes and nails on the side of the wall on which to hang coats. An old potbelly stove was in the middle of the room. There was a piano and a movable closet for storage of books, pencils, paper, et. The teacher's desk was in the middle of the room, and a blackboard was behind the teacher's desk. The school seated about thirty pupils. There was an attic in which they stored desks and other things. They reached it by climbing on a desk and going through a hatch in the ceiling. This hatch was near the back of the room in front of the door. The door lead to a closed-in wind-breaker -porch. There was no well on the property so either the teacher or an older boy would go across the road to a neighbor's house and get water out of a pump. The neighbor's house used to be the Markelsville Academy.
Some of the teachers that used to teach there were: Bertha Stambaugh, T. W. Tresseler, Anetta Hench, L. D. Stambaugh, W. H. Long, Carrie Fosselman, Mossalene Baker, Mrs. Horace Troutman, Mrs. Tamar CXlouser, Lester Turnbaugh, Lester Sheaffer, Clarence Flickinger, and the last teacher was Graffius Sheaffer.
The school was closed on February 29th, 1956. On July 1956, a sale was held, and Ivan Rice, a nearby resident, bought the school. Many others things such as books, bookcases, and desks were purchased from the school." - A Sesquicential Commemorative Book for Newport, Pennsylvania 1840-1990
". . . in 1839, Rev. John William Heim, commenced to preach for them occasionally in the school-house on the hill near Bosserman's mill, now near Markelville. At the same time a Sunday-school was also started and held at this school-house." - H.H.Hain
Today the property is owned by the Drains. The Drains and their two children live in the house next door. Mr. Drain makes harps and Mrs. Drain is a known harpist. The schoolhouse is used as a wood-working shop.