Athens Area High School - Athenian Yearbook (Athens, PA)

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Athens is a town to be proud of. Her history is made up of Indians, traders, armies, border wars, and hardy pioneers. To each of these she had something great to offer. To the Indians, Spanish Hill and Roundtop served as fortresses, and the river flats south of the point offered ideal campgrounds—better known as Queen Ester’s Flats. The trader found Hollenback’s Trading Post to be the last supply center for the frontier country to the north along both rivers. The pioneers were attracted to this rich valley, made accessible by the river, only to be caught in the bitter struggle over land claims between Pennsylvania and Connecticut, known as the Yankee-Pennamite Wars. While Athens was still young and our country' was still in its birth, the people of Athens met to discuss a point of importance. This point was the establishment of a school. The farseeing pioneers realized the future of Athens rested upon the education of the boy and girl. School was set up in a log coopership in the year 1789. The first school master, Jared Root, taught the boy and girl the traditional three “R’s” and laid tlie groundwork for future education in Athens. 6