Concord School House (Philadelphia)
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The Concord School House is a historic one-room schoolhouse in the Germantown section of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. It is operated today as a museum. It is part of the
Colonial Germantown Historic District The Colonial Germantown Historic District is a designated National Historic Landmark District in the Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Germantown and Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mount Airy neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Penns ...
which was named a National Historic Landmark District in 1965. Built in 1775 by Jacob Knorr (or Knor), Concord was the first English-language school in Germantown, which was then a separate town about six miles northwest of Philadelphia. It is built on the corner of the Upper Burial Ground at Washington Lane and Germantown Avenue. It opened to students in October 1775, and served as a school room until at least 1889.


Architecture

The school is , two bays by three bays, and was originally one story with a cellar. In 1818 a second floor was added as a town meeting room which was long used as a library. A square open belfry with a spire tops the roof. The walls are made of rough random rubble which was once stuccoed. Both entrance doors are on the south side of the building. The cellar is accessed from two stairways, one from the outside in front of the school, and the other from the back of the classroom. The teacher stood on a raised platform on the west side of the classroom. The building retains its original bell and belfry, schoolmaster's desk, books, and even a stool and dunce cap. The schoolhouse sits on a raised lot about above and about east of Germantown Avenue. Seven stairs ascend from the street leading to the school which is on the same level as the Upper Burial Ground. A short retaining wall on Germantown Avenue, may have been built in 1777, when the much taller wall around the Upper Burial Ground was built. Knorr, a master builder, is buried in the burial ground. He also constructed the John Johnson House across the street,
Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern Hi ...
, and the original
Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the ...
.


History

At a meeting on March 24, 1775, the residents of the upper part of Germantown decided that the Union School was too far for their children to travel, and they needed a schoolhouse of their own. The Union School was perhaps the largest non-religious building in Germantown at the time. German was its main language of instruction. It was later known as the
Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the ...
and is located one mile south of the Concord School House. Other nearby schools were single rooms, including the Harmony School in Chestnut Hill and the
Lutheran School A Lutheran school is a school associated with Lutheranism. They were common amongst Lutherans who migrated to the United States and Australia from Germany and Scandinavia. Australia The first Lutheran school in Australia opened in 1839. At 2013 ...
, both founded in 1745. See page 33. Instruction in Germantown schools at this period was not based on religion but concentrated more on reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic. Students generally attended the closest school. Schools were not seen as competitors, for example 14 trustees of the Union School donated to the Concord School, and the two schools shared two building managers. About 17% of the Concord Schools students were Dunkards, who are believed to have enrolled only because so many Dunkards lived in the immediate area. See pp.240-241. The school's record book covers the founding through the early twentieth century and is held by the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historic research facility headquartered on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chron ...
. It lists 122 original subscribers. Samuel Fitch Hochkin quotes the record of the first meeting extensively. Jacob Engle, Peter Keyser, Peter Leibert, and Jacob Knorr were chosen to be the managers of the building. Knorr "nearly completed" the building in October 1775. The total money subscribed was 245 pounds, 1 shilling, and 2 pence, but the record notes "the Continental that came to nothing 2 pounds. Real amount 243 pounds 1 shilling 2 pence." The site beside the Upper Burial Ground was chosen, construction began, and in October 1775, the Concord School was nearly completed and opened. John Grimes was the first schoolmaster and instruction was entirely in English. Based on an article by William N. Johnson in Germantown Magazine, December 1925. On October 4, 1777, the
Battle of Germantown The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American ...
was fought outside the school, with a key action fought at
Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern Hi ...
, just a block north. During the period of the Revolutionary War it is not clear whether the school was open, as no records were kept from 1776 to 1783. The Union School, located further south, was closed during this period. On April 15, 1783, six trustees were appointed including the four original managers Jacob Engle, Peter Keyser, Peter Leibert, and Jacob Knorr, as well as John Johnson, Jr. and Winard Nice. The school was supported by subscription and neighbors contributed to the fund, allowing any family that could afford the fee to enroll its children (around $2 per quarter, plus .25 for spelling books), including families of African descent who rented the school house in the 1850s. When Pennsylvania's public school system was established in 1840, the local township school board rented the building through 1842, marking the end of Concord School's use as an independent school. The building was however, rented out to other schools and social groups after this date. The Hiram Lodge of the Masonic Order rented the upper floor from 1821 to 1823. The Senior Order of United American Mechanics rented the upper floor from 1847 until at least 1853, when the Junior Order was established at the schoolhouse. The Charter Oak Library was established in the upper floor in 1855. The predecessor of the Germantown Historical Society, then known as the Site and Relic Society, used the lower floor as a museum from 1903 to 1908. In 1889 the first floor housed a private school run by Miss Annie McMurtrie and the room of Mrs. Diilon, the janitor. The Charter Oak Library still occupied the second floor, See p. 169 and did so until at least 1902. The origin of the school's name is uncertain. It was perhaps named after the ship ''Concord'' which brought the first Dutch and German immigrants to America. An alternate theory is that its foundations were built at the time of the first shot of the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
fired in
Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...
. Concord School House is a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
of the
Colonial Germantown Historic District The Colonial Germantown Historic District is a designated National Historic Landmark District in the Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Germantown and Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mount Airy neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Penns ...
, which is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
and a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
. Several buildings within the district are also separately listed. These include the John Johnson House, across the street, and
Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern Hi ...
, a block north of the school house, both National Historic Landmarks. The Germantown Mennonite Meetinghouse, Upsala, Michael Billmeyer House and
Daniel Billmeyer House The Daniel Billmeyer House is a historic house in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 1793 section of the house was built by printer and wealthy businessman Michael Billmeyer for his son Daniel. The house was built in t ...
, all within three blocks of the school house, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


References


Further reading

* Marion, John Francis. ''Bicentennial City: Walking Tours of Historic Philadelphia''. Princeton: The Pyne Press, 1974. * Minardi, Joseph M. ''Historic Architecture in Northwest Philadelphia: 1690-1930s''. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2011. * Jenkins, Charles F. ''The Guide Book to Historic Germantown''. Germantown Historical Society, 1973. * Tinkcom, Harry A and Margaret B. and Grant Miles Simon, ''Historic Germantown: From the Founding to the Early Part of the Nineteenth Century''. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1955., p. 97 * Teitelman, Edward, and Richard W. Longstreth. ''Architecture in Philadelphia: A Guide''. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1974., p. 218 * Webster, Richard J., ''Philadelphia Preserved''. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1976., p. 263


External links

*
Concord School
at USHistory.org *{{HABS , survey=PA-12 , id=pa1173 , title=Concord School , photos=1 , dwgs=7 , data=3 , cap=1
Germantown: Historic School and Gravesite in ‘Sweet Concord’
Philadelphia Neighborhoods,
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
. Text and video, accessed January 24, 2012.
Earliest known photograph of the school
from the 1850s 1775 establishments in Pennsylvania Defunct schools in Pennsylvania Museums in Philadelphia Education museums in the United States One-room schoolhouses in Pennsylvania History museums in Pennsylvania Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia Educational institutions established in 1775 Germantown, Philadelphia School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia School buildings completed in 1775