From the Archives

Notes from Rhinebeck Historical Society

May 2026

One-Room Schoolhouses

Eighty five years ago in July of 1941, Frank L. Asher wandered the roads of Rhinebeck to take a series of 8×10 black and white photographs of the one-room schoolhouses that dotted the landscape. By the end of the 1950s, all had been closed. After that time, most became homes for local families and retained evidence of the charm and architecture of their past.

Ackert Hook School RHS.1995-001.02.07.jpg
Eighmyville School RHS.1995-001.02.09.jpg
Flat Rock School - Hermanceville RHS.1995-001.02.12.jpg
Hillside School RHS.1995-001.02.04.jpg
Miller School RHS.1995-001.02.11.jpg
Morton School RHS.1995-001.02.01.jpg
North Hook School RHS.1995-001.02.03.jpg
Rhinebeck Village School RHS.1995-001.02.05.jpg
Rhinecliff School RHS.1995-001.02.02.jpg
Stone Church School RHS.1995-001.02.06.jpg
RHS.1995-001.02.10.jpg
Wurtemburg School RHS.1995-001.02.08.jpg

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Ledgers are valuable resources, and RHS has a 40 page handwritten ledger dated 1834-1856 that shows the distribution of school funds. Below, a four page report of the joint school district #6 in Rhinebeck and Red Hook includes the names of families and the number of children in each family on page 4. 

HRVH Historical Newspapers is another great resource. Discussions in the 1920s and 1930s focused on the pros and cons of consolidation. One memorable quote in the December 6, 1923 issue of the Red Hook Advertiser reads, “Nothing is too good for the little tots that today are going to school and that tomorrow will be running this wonderful world.”

Discover more Rhinebeck history in the June issue of From the Archives.

Researcher,
Bonnie Wood
May 2026