Bygone Hudson Valley

An important consideration to the early residents of the towns of Shawangunk and Gardiner was providing an education for the children in the region. Instruction was offered privately in the homes of the most educated men of the area, as well as by ministers of the Reformed Churches in both towns. By the early 1800s, however, the majority of students attended public neighborhood schools in rural one-room schoolhouses, including the Bruynswick School, Shawangunk District No. 8.

At least one earlier school existed on Bruynswick Road, just north of the current site. The Bruynswick School was built sometime prior to the 1840s and for just over a century students received instruction there in a variety of subjects, including reading, mathematics, geography, Latin and the sciences. The school also housed Sunday School classes and various community activities. With the advent of centralized school districts, enrollment decreased dramatically, and on May 12, 1943, voters of the newly formed Wallkill Central School District moved to close the Bruynswick School. The schoolhouse was sold at public auction the following month for the sum of $300, and was gradually converted into a private home.

Pictured, below: The late Elaine Terwilliger Weed (1925-2017), author of One Room Schools of the Town of Shawangunk. Weed became interested in researching local schools after discovering old school ledgers, such as the one she is holding, slated for disposal. Weed attended the Bruynswick school as a child. (Photos by Elizabeth Werlau, 2013)

The one and a half story school was constructed in the Greek Revival style, including corner pilasters and a central doorway with windows to each side as was common to the time period. The roofline includes a wide frieze and a partial cornice. It is a three bay timber building, resting on a foundation of quartz conglomerate stones. A structure report compiled by a previous owner indicates that the stones used for the foundation contain drill holes and were most likely quarried from the Shawangunk Mountains. When used as a school, the front of the building had interior cloakrooms to either side of the door and was heated by a wood stove at the back of the classroom. Separate outhouses for boys and girls stood behind the building; a door to the side of the schoolhouse led outside to the “privies.”

An exterior storage shed was converted into an interior bathroom in the 1940s after the building had been sold for use as a private home. Also added was a second story loft with stairs on the eastern end of the home for use as a bedroom. Although the structure has been used as a residence for nearly 70 years, it retains much of the character of the original schoolhouse. The “District No. 8” sign still stands above the entrance door, which leads into an open room reminiscent of a classroom. Students once carved initials and various other writings into the wooden siding; at a later point the same siding was removed and rehung and today initials can be seen at various points around the perimeter of the home.

The property once included a kickball/baseball diamond, a teeter-totter and a sandbox for students to use during their recess. Though those features are long gone, many of the trees on the property stand as a reminder of the Bruynswick students who planted them during Arbor Day celebrations. Just prior to the building closing in 1943, the last teacher, Mrs. Sally Meredith, helped her students bury a time capsule on the property and to plant a final tree along the fence line.

In the fall of 2000, the former Bruynswick School, Shawangunk District No. 8, was added to the National Register of Historic Place and designated as “a place of learning for 100 years.” It remains a private residence today.