1900 One Room Schoolhouse

Step back in time to when classes consisted of all ages together!  Welcome to our One Room Schoolhouse exhibit which opened in 2023.  Sparta had four one room schoolhouses.   The first school was built at the Presbyterian Church in 1812 and was replaced in 1860 after a fire destroyed it.  

The one-room schoolhouses were established in New Jersey when a 1819 bill funded public education, and they remained active through the 1930’s, when regional schools were established. Students from grades one to eight attended these schools. Four of the structures that housed the one-room schoolhouse remain.

Our schoolhouse replicates schools that were generally equipped with a teacher’s desk, student desks, a flag, a globe or map, books, a slate board, and a clock. Our schoolhouse has an 1860 map of Sussex County.  At the back of the room is an old stove similar to those used to heat the room