Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • F A L L / H O L I D A Y 2 0 2 1 16 BEACHCOMBER continued from page 15 OLD ARDENA SCHOOLHOUSE, HOWELL TOWNSHIP Corner of Old Tavern and Preventorium Roads, Howell www.howellheritagehistorical society.org/ardena-schoolhouse The Old Ardena School replaced Ardena School in 1855 and was one of the first educational buildings in Howell Township. The original fif- teen-foot by sixteen-foot school was located across the street from the present-day Ardena Baptist Church on Adelphia Road. The school welcomed students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The Old Ardena School closed in 1938 when schools were consolidated, and the building was sold to a neighbor, Roy Matthews, in 1939 for $300. Mathews used it to store his carpentry tools. The school kindergarten through eighth grade the following year. When Blansingburg Schoolhouse closed its doors in 1936, students were transferred to a two-room schoolhouse. The build- ing was sold for $200. and used as a lawn mower repair shop for years until it was donated to the Old Wall Historical Society in 1999. The society moved the building to the Allgor- Barkalow Museum property and opened it as an additional museum filled with original, historic artifacts including double desks and a chalk- board. Some of the students who were enrolled in the school in 1936 attend- ed the museum's grand opening in 2001. Check their Facebook page for current hours as they vary by season and fluctuate due to staffing. OCEAN COUNTY BARNEGAT LIGHT SCHOOL HOUSE, BARNEGAT LIGHT 501 Central Avenue, Barnegat Light www.bl-hs.org/about_the_museum. htm The Barnegat Light School House operated from 1903 through 1951 and served students from first grade through eighth grade during its years as a school. While the original schoolhouse was located on 3rd Street Significant Legislation Affecting One-Room Schools 1817: State fund created for schools 1820: Townships authorized to raise money for the education of those unable to pay 1824: One-tenth of state taxes allocated to school funds 1845: Provision made for State Superintendent of Public Instruction 1846: Established public schools, created office of Town Superintendents, required licensing of teachers 1853: Licensing of teachers began (replaced system of applying to local school committee) 1855: State Normal School established in Trenton; law provided for state purchase of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary for each school 1867: County Superintendents replace Town Superintendents; County Boards of Examiners created for issuance of teaching certificates 1871: Free public schools established (tuition/rate bills abolished) 1876: Constitutional amendment: Legislature to provide for maintenance and support of thorough and efficient system of free public schools…between the ages of 5 and 18 years 1885: Compulsory school law: Children between 7 and 12 years of age to attend school for twenty weeks a year. 1894: Township School Act sets township lines as school district lines; Free Textbook Act passed; reorganization of State School Board 1900: Kindergarten made an integral part of school systems 1902: Children between 7 and 12 years old must attend school every day school is open; those between 12 and 15 years old must attend at least sixteen weeks of the year 1903: Districts required to provide two out- houses on school grounds, one for boys and one for girls 1906: First Teacher Tenure Law (amended in 1909) 1911: State Teaching Certificate replaces County Teaching Certificates 1913: Compulsory school attendance for students aged 7 to 16 years old From Chickaree in the Wall: A history of one-room schools in Ocean County, N.J. by Carolyn M. Campbell, M. Peryl King, and Martha T. Smith. Published by the Ocean County Historical Society, 1987. was then sold in 1946 to Victor Griffin, who moved the building to Freehold Township. A push by the Howell Heritage and Historical Society in 1973 to purchase and preserve the building was successful, and the build- ing was relocated again in 1974 to its present location. Today, it is a histori- cal landmark. The museum in the Old Ardena Schoolhouse offers visitors a slice of what life in a one-room schoolhouse was like during the 1800s through a myriad of artifacts on dis- play. It is open the last Sunday of each month from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM. BLANSINGBURG SCHOOLHOUSE, WALL TOWNSHIP 1663-1669 New Bedford Road, Wall www.facebook.com/owhsmuseum Built in 1885, the Blansingburg Schoolhouse was originally located four miles away from its current site on New Bedford Road. The school welcomed ninety-six students from Old Ardena School House in Howell. Blansingburg Schoolhouse in Wall. Barnegat Light School House is now the Barnegat Light Museum. Jill Ocone Jill Ocone Jill Ocone

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