Site of the first Oakfield schoolhouse. This building, located at 6 South Main Street, is the old Methodist Episcopal Parsonage built in 1879 (now a two family dwelling). Photo courtesy of the Genesee County Real Property Tax Department. In 1840, there was a one story log schoolhouse on the site, the only schoolhouse in town based on the recollections of Mrs Grace Hill, who lived in Oakfield from 1840 until her death in 1903. According to the 1985 History of Genesee County reference, the log schoolhouse was built in 1828 by David Warner at a cost of 36 dollars, and had dimensions 18 x 24 feet. The shorter dimension faced Main St., based on the shape of the footprint from the 1866 map of Cary showing the Free Methodist Church at the location. The log schoolhouse was used for schooling from 1828-1853. It was later used for services by the Free Methodist Church, which had been reorganized from the Methodist Church at 8 Maple Avenue. The log schoolhouse became expendable as a place for instruction, because in 1851 the Union Free School was built behind the Cary Seminary on Drake Street - it may be seen on the 1866 and 1876 maps of the village. Both schools are now gone. As a footnote, the history books state that the first school in Oakfield appeared in 1817, but my guess is that classes were probably held in a dwelling or barn until the growing population warranted spending taxes on a dedicated building in 1828. We welcome comments and corrections from the alumni community, since determining the location of the first school seems to be as puzzling as discovering how Davy Crockett died at the Alamo.
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