Otisfield's One-Room Schoolhouses

Text by Jean F. Hankins

Images from the collections of the Otisfield Historical Society and the Maine Historical Society.

Otisfields's one-room schoolhouses tell many stories about the town—the proliferation of small villages within the community, changes over time in building location and use, differences in types of clothing worn by students and teachers over time, and family names.

The images also suggest changes in education -- for teachers and students --from the early nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. Finally, the images raise many questions -- who took the photos? Why were they taken? Were the ones of students and teachers taken on special occasions? Did students dress up for the photos?

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