Burn me Once...

When my folks were here a few weeks ago, they shared many different artifacts that they found at my grandmother's house. One of them was a small booklet titled:

1873-1973
Centenial
of the
Village Of Champlain
New York

Some Historical Notes
Compiled by
Lawrence Paquette & Charles W. McLellan

Centennial Days
Saturday, Sunday, August 25-26
1973

I have taken the liberty to reproduce (without permission) one of the articles here.

Education in Champlain

     The lamp of knowledge came to Champlain in 1792, with an Englishman, Michael Fothergill, as the first teacher. Four years later the first Board of Trustees was chosen, followed in 1797 by the first schoolhouse -- a log building near the railroad crossing on Oak Street.
     The second building was of frame, built a few years later on Church Street where the "locker plant" now stands. This was also used as a blockhouse during the war of 1812, ans was burned in 1814. The U.S. Government reimbursed the owners to the amount of $400.
     A brick building was built on the same site at a cost of about $1100. This building was 40 by 26 feet. It was sold by the School District in 1884.
     The Champlain Academy was erected in 1842, at the corner of Elm and Prospect Streets. It was a three story brick and stone building, 40 by 80 feet, and cost $5,200, including furnishings. Destroyed by fire in 1887, it was replaced at a cost of $11,000 by the building shown above, to which an addition was built in 1905. This structure was complete destroyed by fire in December 1940, the site now being occupied by the home of Mr. Carl Fresn.
     The new building was built in 1941-42 at a cost of $171,000, which is now the present grade school for our area of the Northeastern Clinton Central School.
     Consolidations of the many small school districts started in 1860; continued with the establishment of the Union Free School System in 1871 and the gradual expansion into our present Central School System.
     Notable among our early instructors are Dr. William Beaumont, who taught School in Champlain in 1807-10, and Jehudi Ashmun in 1815. Recent principals before Mr. Maher were Mr. Bacon, Marvin and Codding.

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Dad had sometimes mentioned that when he was in grade school, the school had burned down. I didn't know the whole story. Since a picture is worth a thousand words...

I'm not sure how this photo ended up in my grandmother's house, but I'm glad that I have a copy of it.