Minerva Elementary School
​1818 - 1945

🏫 Schoolhouses of Minerva
School History - Home   /   District 1 – Alfred White   /   District 1 – Olmstedville    /   District 1 – Minerva Central
District 2 - Minerva Elementary   /   District 3 - Lynch/Mallon   /  District 4 - Irishtown   /   District 5 - Puddin Hollow
District 6 – The Ryan School   /   District 7 - The Gore School   /  Districts 8 & 11 - North River
District 9 - The Boreas School   /  District 10 - Leonardsville   /   District 12: Havron - Kays   /   District 13 – Aiden Lair​

AI enhance image of District 2 Minerva Elementary School.

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🕰️Timeline at a Glance

📍 1818
District #2 formed; first school built near “Four Corners” (28N & 14th Rd).
🧱 1855
Original building described as in poor condition, valued at $10.
🏫 1858
Puddin Hollow School opens on Ridge Street.
📦 Late 1800s
School likely relocated below present-day Town Hall.
🔨 1885–86
New school built for $700.
🏚️ 1905
Re-shingled.
🚪 1922
Interior divided into two classrooms.
🏢 1925
New two-room school built; now the Minerva Town Hall.
🚸 1944
Grades 7–8 sent to Olmstedville; 17 students remain in Minerva.
🔚 1945
School closes; building sold to town for $1.

Founding and Early Years
The story of Minerva’s District 2 school stretches all the way back to 1818, when the district was officially formed. The first schoolhouse is said to have stood at the original “Four Corners”—the intersection of Route 28N and 14th Road—near the present home of Donald Sturdevan. At one time, sixty-three children were enrolled there. By 1855, the state census described the building as a “frame structure in poor condition,” valued at just ten dollars. It likely didn't stand much longer.
A Possible Second Schoolhouse
While records are incomplete, another school building may have replaced the original—possibly located where lots 24, 25, 26, and 27 form the corners near what is now 6 Townshed Road, once owned by May Donnelly and currently by Tom and Brenda McNally.
It’s important to note that this historic “Four Corners” is not the same as today’s commonly known intersection of A.P. Morse Memorial Highway and County Route 29.
Relocation and New Construction
A school account book from 1885–86 records the construction of a new school building, erected at a cost of $700. The building was re-shingled in 1905, and in 1922, it was divided into two classrooms. This building stood just below the current Town Hall.
The 1925 Schoolhouse
In 1925, a brand new two-room, two-teacher school was constructed—modern for its time—and still stands today as the Minerva Town Hall. It served the educational needs of local children through the late 1930s and early 1940s. At the same time, the very first high school class was graduating from the Olmstedville Union School, which had formed an academic department in 1922. Education in Minerva was expanding—both in student population and in available educational options.
Redistricting and Overflow
In the spring of 1944, the community faced a major transition. On April 18, it was voted to send the 7th and 8th graders to Olmstedville, while keeping the first six grades in Minerva. Students in those two grades would attend the new Olmstedville School, which had opened in 1937. However, local Superintendent Mr. Musaw ruled that parents who had previously sent their children to the Minerva school could choose where to send them. That year, 17 students remained in Minerva, taught by Mrs. Agnes Johnston for the 1944–45 school year.
Closing and Civic Legacy (1945)
Finally, in August 1945, District 2 closed its doors for good. All students were transferred to the newly consolidated school in Olmstedville, which was then officially renamed Minerva Central School.
The final act of District 2 was a gesture of civic trust: the school building was sold to the Town of Minerva for one dollar, to be used as a voting site and town hall—a new purpose for a space that had shaped so many young lives. The Town Hall continues to serve as Minerva’s seat of government today.

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