Caernarvon Township High School - Blugold Yearbook (Morgantown, PA)

Page 15 text:

cxculty DORA M. STOLTZFUS Morgantown, Pa. Kutztown State Teachers College. Elementary-Grades One and Two. MRS. JEAN S. WAGNER Richland, Pa. Ithaca College, B. S. in Ed. Mixed Chorus. Girl.-S' Chorus. Orchestra. Assemblies. Music MRS. FLORENCE J. ZEIDERS Geigfertown, Pa. Kutztown State Teachers College. Elementary-Grades Three and Four. .L thirteen f R

Page 14 text:

twelve Facult MRS. ANNA B. PECK Morgantown, Pa. West Chester State Teachers Collegeg Millersville State Teachers College Elerhentary-Grades Five and Six. A JOHN w. POLISCHAK 1125 Muhlenberg Street. Reading, Pa. Kutztown State Teachers College, B. S in Ed. Boys' Athletics. Boys' Athletic Association. Social Studies, Biology, Health. ARTHUR T. SIGMAN Elverson , P3 . West Chester! State Teachers College. Elementary-Grades Seven and Eight. Q1--in-1i 1

Page 16 text:

F e Historical Tlibstvctcts There is no deiinite date as to when Morgantown was founded, however, the year 1760 is set up as its date of beginning. As the name indicates, Morgantown was named after Col. jacob Morgan, a Revolutionary War patriot. Before 1805 the name had been Morgan's Town , but was then changed to Morgantown. Colonel jacob Morgan received land from his father on which he laid out the plans for the town. Before the establishing of Berks County in 1752 this piece of land lay in Conestoga Township, Chester County. Morgantown grew rapidly. Many people came to work in the nearfby iron mines and blast furnaces, while others came to start their own business. With the growing of the town, there was a great demand for a school, and so the first school was established. The first school was held in the Episcopal Church, which was built on a lot of ground willed by Thomas Morgan. This was not located in Morgantown, but close by. No definite location is known. It was not long before this building did not satisfactorily meet the needs of the community as a church or school, so a new church was built, wherein they would also have school. This was brought about by an act of the Legislature of the Com' monwealth of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, on March 6, 1786. The act gave per- mission to remove the building from the one-acre plot to a lot No. 32 in Morgantown. The Vestrymen and Church Wardens of the new church, Saint Thomas Chapel, had the duties of taking care of the church property and also to manage the public school. According to William B. Plank in his Founding of Saint Thomas Church, ln 1786, the petition for a charter states that a 'Public School' had been maintained in the edifice that had been erected on the oneeacre lot and consecrated in 1765 . As the town was populated mostly with Welsh and English settlers this school was attended largely by these two groups. As the population increased, a pressing need for an independent school house developed, so the Episcopal Church was built. After the dedication exercises in 1824, it was decided to have a separate schocl building. In 1827 the congregation of the Saint Thomas Church built a separate scliool. This building still stands beside the Saint Thomas Church, located on Cherry Lane in Morgantown. Here are some of the facts about the first school housez- First, it was built by the congregation of Saint Thomas Church at its expense to serve as a public school for the community in accordance with the practice ofthe parish that was begun certainly by the year 1765. Then, second, this school house was built seven years before the establishment of the public school system of the Commonwealth of Penna., established in 1834, and during the early years of that system, the township authonf ties leased the building from the Saint Thomas Vestry and paid an annual rental therefor. C'Founding of Saint Thomas Church -W. B. Plankl. The stone for this building was hauled by john Ammon at two dollars and fifty cents a day. Sometime later a second story was added to the building by the Masonic Fra- ternity Union Lodge No. 479. This was used as a lodge hall until Cctober 18, 1888, when the lodge moved to Birdsboro. This floor was used as a grammar school. This building was called the Caernarvon Township Grammar School. During the school term of 1896f1897, Mr. Frederick A. Marx, now Judge of Orphans' Court of Berks County, was a teacher. Mr. Marx taught the upper grades on the second floor, and Miss Ella Knauer taught the lower grades on the first floor. The building was abandoned as a school house in 1904. English speaking children, but there was another school for the German speaking children. This building was located on the grounds of Peter Plank. A According to Mr. William B. Plank The school building was built of red sand stone and painted. It was established in 1785 by Peter Plank and maintained by him The Caernarvon Township Grammar School was attended principally bythe I fourteen