The document summarizes the history of public education in Portland, Connecticut from the 1700s to the 1960s. It describes the evolution from small one-room schoolhouses run by women teachers to a centralized school system with buildings in different districts. Over time, schools consolidated into a high school and several primary schools, with changing administrative structures to oversee the schools. The document provides details on important individuals and donations that supported the development of schools in Portland over two centuries.

1. A Historical Sketch of Public
Education in Portland,
Connecticut.
By John McCormick
Presented By Jennifer Crutchfield
Portland Historical Society
October 25, 2011

2. John McCormick
• Portland resident.
• Wrote his thesis for CCSU in 1967.
• An educator in Portland for many years.
• Assistant Principal at the Portland Junior High
School in the 1970’s.
1933-2010
• Adult Basic Education instructor for 15 years
at Middletown Adult Education.

3. 1976 Portland Junior High Yearbook,
Principal Donald Rixon and Asst. Principal John McCormick

4. Table of Contents
 Chapter
 I. EAST OF THE RIVER................... 1
 II. FAITH OF THE FATHERS................ 13
 III. YE OLD COMMON SCHOLL.............. 22
 IV. SCHOOL SOCIETIES................... 33
 V. HARDWOOD............................. 48
 VI. VOTED THAT......................... 57
 VII. MINUTES............................ 67
 VIII. SCHOOL BUILDINGS.................. 80
 IX. LEGISLATIVE INFLUENCES.............. 98
 X. ADJOURNED............................ 116

5. A HISTOICAL SKETCH OF PUBLIC
EDUCATION IN
PORTLAND, CONNECTICUT
By John J. McCormick

6. The Original Mimeograph

7. The OCR Results
(Optical Character Recognition, turns the images of character into individual letters)

8. Final Copy after Proofreading

9. School Districts of Portland (1847)

10. From “Dame” Schools into
Schoolhouses
 Women taught in their homes
 They usually had no children of their own
 May have had very little education
themselves
 The school year was 4 months in
Summer, 2 months in Winter
 1711: Children 6 to 10 must attend school
 1722: 1st school built in Rose Hill District

11. Evolution of the Schoolhouse in
Portland
 1790: A School is reported to be
functioning on Main Street across from
Congregational Church; “Schoolhouse on
the street.”
 1819: Seven schools maintained in town.
 1830: School held for 10 months; 6 male
teachers, 4 female teachers.
 1839: A library was founded.
 1839: Students were separated: The
Primary, Male, and Female Departments.

12. Portland Schools: 1813-1814
District School Students
1 Chatham 90
2 South Neck 70
3 Over the Meadow 60
4 Penfield Hill 50
5 North School 50
6 Ames 40
7 Brown 20

13. The Penfield Hill School and Students

14. Portland Schools:1857
District School Students
1 Gildersleeve 126
2 Central 393
3 Rose Hill 52
4 Penfield Hill 58
5 Up-City 38
6 Pacausett 118
7 Bucktown 33

15. The Schoolhouse in
Portland(1840-1884)
 1840: A Summer school was founded.
 1857: Up-City School built on Glastonbury Road.
 1870: Bank School built.
 1876 Gildersleeve Hall School built. First public
high school in Portland.
 1880: Consolidation of schools took place
 1884: Kindergarten class at Pacausett School.

16. The Schoolhouse in
Portland (1840-1920s)
 1887: St. Mary’s School. First parochial school in
the state.
 1889: Central School built as Portland High
School.
 1920s: Frank W. Barber was appointed as the
supervisor of the Portland schools.
 1920s: town withdrew the management of the
schools from under direct state supervision. Free
text books and transportation.

17. Students at Rose Hill School pose with their
teacher, Miss Dora Stocking

18. Evolution of School Administration
 1600s: Church Societies controlled schools.
 1795: Church Societies become School
Societies.
 1795: Authority goes from the Congregational
Church to town authorities.
 1798: School Societies completely separated
from church.
 1832: Two committees: Committee and Visitors.
 1856: “School Visitors” like present Board of
Education.

19. Everyday Life of a Student
1700s and 1800s
 Attendance
 Ministers became
schoolmasters
 7am to 11am
 Memorizing and whipping
 Heating
 Paid in wood
 “hornbooks”
 Prayers
 Harsh discipline
 Beginning knowledge of
reading and writing

20. Penfield Hill School and Students.

21. Sylvester Gildersleeve
(1775-1886)
•Four generations of Gildersleeves are shown here around 1877. (l-r) Alfred
Hall Gildersleeve 1872-1930, Oliver Gildersleeve 1844-1912,Henry
Gildersleeve 1817-1894,Sylvester Gildersleeve 1795-1886.
•Sylvester Gildersleeve was the enterprising shipbuilder who consolidated
several Portland shipyards to establish the famous S. Gildersleeve and Sons
which built and launched 358 vessels between 1821 and 1932. The yard
was located on Shipyard Lane, now known as Indian Hill Avenue.

22. Sylvester Gildersleeve
 1876: Gave $2000 for the second floor of Gildersleeve
Hall
 Donation for the start of a high school.
 Established a fund worth over $14,000 to be used for
school purposes by the school committee.
 1889: School burned down. Establishment of volunteer
fire department.
 1890: New school built where high school classes were
taught.
 575 ½ Main Street
 Classes held here until all classes began to be held at
Central High School (East Main Street/Fairview Street).

23. The Gildersleeve Hall School built in 1889 to replace the original building
constructed in 1876. Used as a public building until 1959 and demolished
for a new school building in 1963.

24. At the turn of the 20th Century there were two high schools in Portland,
Gildersleeve High School and Portland High School.

25. Portland High School students who massed about 110 tons of scrap metal
for World War II (1939-1945).
The metal shown here is piled at the rear of Portland’s Town Hall. In the
foreground committee chairmen with Supt. Of Schools John Goodrich.

26. Where are they now?
 Pecausett school closed in 1911 (Main Street across
from Bank of America).
 Penfield Hill School closed in 1920 is still standing and is
used as a studio by the Noyes School.
 Rose Hill School closed in is a private residence across
from the Bransfield Ball Fields on Rose Hill.
 Up-City school closed in 1921.
 Freestone School closed in 1932 and torn down in 1941.
 Central School on East Main Street, Portland Junior High
on Main Street, Valley View and Portland Senior High on
High, and the Gildersleeve School on Main Street are
the schools presently serving the educational needs of
over 1800 of Portland's children. (1967)