With the opening of the new school year throughout Chenango County, it is timely that we return again the Township of Coventry for yet another chapter in the history of one-room schools. Regrettably there are no photos for us to view as a reminder of the early education that our forefathers and/or ancestors received in those primitive schoolhouses of yesterday. In this modern hi-tech age when the majority of students have calculators, laptop computers etc., it is unrealistic for today’s students to comprehend the education of yesteryear.

DISTRICT #7 - JONES OR WATROUS (?)

Again the research by Catherine Bickford, former historian, has to be credited to her book “History of the Town of Coventry: 1900-1975.” Her documentation of Page Brook Road in the Town of Coventry (now County Road #9) is the only historical documentation that is available regarding District #7. This writer has taken the liberty of naming this district with the above names as this school does not appear on the 1863 map, but the 1875 map of Coventry shows families by the above names living close to the site of the former schoolhouse.