In the Schoolhouse


The S Road (Roosevelt) School in South Bristol, 1908

The S Road (Roosevelt) School in South Bristol, 1908
Item 81720   info
South Bristol Historical Society

Not least among the complaints of those intent on separating South Bristol from Bristol in 1915 was the inadequate attention paid by Bristol's educational leaders to schools in the south and west reaches of the Bristol Peninsula.

Out of some 16 grammar schools in Bristol, five such schools, each a one-room school, were within what became South Bristol.

Gladstone School Students, South Bristol, 1915

Gladstone School Students, South Bristol, 1915
Item 82092   info
South Bristol Historical Society

While Bristol's town meeting regularly appropriated adequate funds for supplies and maintenance in other parts of Bristol, such was not the case for the schools located in the area of South Bristol.

By 1914, these schools served close to 100 students each year.

Sarah Emery at age 24, 1907

Sarah Emery at age 24, 1907
Item 79577   info
South Bristol Historical Society

With little or no janitorial funds allotted, South Bristol teachers were forced to clean and maintain their own schools, which with eight grades in one room must have required constant upkeep.

The dedicated teachers in these one-room schools, such as Sara Emery who taught in South Bristol for some 47 years, accepted this duty that was not imposed on teachers in the rest of Bristol.

S Road School class, South Bristol, ca. 1923

S Road School class, South Bristol, ca. 1923
Item 79575   info
South Bristol Historical Society

Bristol's neglect extended to supplies too, as South Bristol teachers were often compelled to purchase even the most basic supplies, like crayons and pencils, for their students.


According to town reports of the time, Bristol schools received new blackboards as requested, but no comparable improvements were extended to schools in the South Bristol area, where blackboards had been in substandard condition for years.

Lincoln School and Union Church, South Bristol, ca. 1915

Lincoln School and Union Church, South Bristol, ca. 1915
Item 79572   info
South Bristol Historical Society

Perhaps more pressing than lack of funding for maintenance, supplies, and teacher salaries in the lower grades was the fact that the four-year Bristol High School was too far away for most South Bristol area students to attend.

Only those few who could board with friends or family near the school could attend.

Some traveled by boat to Damariscotta to attend Lincoln Academy, but the annual cost of $100 was beyond the reach of most.

A two-year high school in South Bristol was grudgingly approved – and inadequately financed - by Bristol around 1912, but the long-standing inequality of scholastic opportunity placed South Bristol area students at a great disadvantage.

Lincolnite yearbook editorial page, South Bristol, 1931

Lincolnite yearbook editorial page, South Bristol, 1931
Item 79574   info
South Bristol Historical Society

The 1915 petitions for secession from Bristol emphasized the fact that there were more than enough school children in the South Bristol area to warrant a separate and independent school system.

It wasn’t until 1929 that South Bristol’s two-year high school finally became an accredited Class A four-year school accommodating 45 to 65 students per year.

The first senior class graduated in 1931.

Varsity letter, South Bristol, ca. 1955

Varsity letter, South Bristol, ca. 1955
Item 79579   info
South Bristol Historical Society

Lincoln High School continued as a four-year Class A school for most of the next 30 years.

There were basketball teams for both boys and girls, a boy's baseball team, a theater group, orchestra, yearbook committee, school newspaper and numerous socials organized by the small but active student body.

South Bristol School, as built in 1962, ca. 1977

South Bristol School, as built in 1962, ca. 1977
Item 82109   info
South Bristol Historical Society

Dwindling enrollment was the primary reason for closing of Lincoln High School in 1962. Most South Bristol students went to Lincoln Academy in Damariscotta for their high school education, as many of their grandparents had done.

The same year a new elementary school was opened on the mainland not far from the bridge over the Gut.

South Bristol School and gymnasium, May 29, 2013

South Bristol School and gymnasium, May 29, 2013
Item 82108   info
South Bristol Historical Society

The same building serves South Bristol students in 2013.

The roof line was altered to alleviate a leaking problem, and shortly after the beginning of the 21st century, a new gymnasium was built -- basketball games were played on a full-size court with room for parents and friends to watch for the first time in South Bristol history!

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