One and Two Room Schools Lost to Time

Thanks to the efforts of the Hall family and the Portsmouth Historical Society, one of the original one-room schoolhouses in Portsmouth has not been lost to time. On the grounds of the Portsmouth Historical Society museum, the Southermost School provides a glimpse of Portsmouth School Days in the 1700s. Around 1730 there were two schools in town – the Southermost by the corner of Union and East Main and the Northermost School which was located (logically enough) in the north of town (near where the post office is today).

Around 1860 the town was large enough to divide into eight districts. Southermost and Northermost Schools were retired. Southermost served as a harness shed on the Hall farm on Union Street. Prudence Island’s one room school house is one of those original eight. Bristol Ferry, Chase Main (near the location of Melville School), McCorrie School (Schoolhouse Lane), Vaucluse (Braman’s Lane near Wapping Rd.), Gibbs School (Union St. near Jepson Lane) and a school that served the coal mine area were among these one room schools. As the school system outgrew the one-room schools, schools that had two or three rooms were built. Newtown School on Turnpike, Quaker Hill School (the Administration Building today) and Coggeshall School on East Main began to handle different grades. As the town grew older students went to Anthony School and Anne Hutchinson School held a variety of grades. Along the way the schools were repurposed or moved. Coggeshall School received a large addition that is used by the Aquidneck Island Christian Academy today.

Here is a 200 year old list of Rules and Punishment posted at Southernmost School. Imagine if they were the rules at school today!
Boys and girls playing together – 1 lash
Fighting at School – 5 lashes
Quarreling at school – 3 lashes
Climbing for every foot over 3ft up a tree – 1 lash
Telling tales out of school – 8 lashes
Giving each other ill names – 3 lashes
Misbehaving to girls – 10 lashes
Leaving school without leave of the teacher – 4 lashes
Wearing long fingernails – 2 lashes
Boys going to the girls’ play place – 3 lashes
Girls going to the boys’ play place – 2 lashes
For every word you miss on your heart lessons without a good excuse – 1 lash
For not saying yes or no sir or yes or no marm – 2 lashes
Telling lies – 7 lashes
Swearing at school – 9 lashes.

Come visit the Southermost School and see how you fit into the old school seats.  Check the School District Map and figure out what school district your home today would have been in in the 1870's.  The Portsmouth Historical Society Museum opens to the public the 2 PM to 4 PM on Sundays from Memorial Day Weekend to Columbus Day weekend.