Back to School Goes Way Back

Back to school goes way back in Port Washington, even before there was a permanent school building on the peninsula. Education has long been an active part of community life in Cow Neck  – the acreage between Manhasset Bay and Hempstead Harbor.   

The majority of the 18th century English settlers were illiterate. But they didn't want their children to be.  Dutch settlers, according to Dr. George Williams, chairman of the North Hempstead Historic Landmarks Commission, wanted their children to be able to read the Bible. They also wanted their children to know how to add and subtract, for good reason – after all, how can you run a mill if you don't know what to charge for your services?

The Town of North Hempstead  (est. 1784) Commission of Common Schools set up school districts in 1819, with one in the Flower Hill area, and one "Up Neck." Around 1820, a one-room schoolhouse was built at the corner of Pleasant Avenue and Mill Pond Road.  The building was a flimsy and drafty affair heated by a wood-burning stove that sat in the middle of a room full of shivering students. This building was used up until 1870.

Books were scarce.  Children who were lucky enough to go to school were even luckier to have one all-purpose textbook and were taught to write by creating small letters to save paper. Teachers' salaries were paid by the parents.

Rural schools closed in the spring and fall, so children could help with planting and harvesting.  City schools did not.  By the 1840s, educators managed to get rural and urban schools on similar calendars to help equalize education nationally.  

Most schools were essentially elementary schools teaching the basics. High school aspirants had to turn to private academies or boarding schools further away to continue their education. Port Washington did not have a high school until the imposing Georgian Revival style Main Street School opened in 1909.