SCHOOLS

Early Lackawannock settlers soon felt the need of education: 3 R's - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. From the 1700s when the Youngs and the Cozads first set foot in this township the parents taught their children. The first school was built of logs in 1805 on the south from the Bill & Jane McFarland Farm. (Cost $40.00)

It was not until 1823 that a log school was constructed on land given by Thomas Blackstone on the land now owned by the Lackawannock Township on Route 318,1� mile east of Greenfield. The first of three schools built in the area of the Village of Greenfield was in 1834. The 3 schools mentioned above were built prior to the establishment of the boundaries of the township. (Previously part of Wilmington Twp. and E. Lackawannock were part of Lackawannock Township.)

The final boundaries of Lackawannock Township were settled by court on August 17, 1849. West and Northwest by Jefferson Twp.; East by Little Neshannock Creek; South by Wilmington Twp. and West by Shenango Twp..

Teaching up to this date was primarily done in the homes except for the three schools mentioned earlier here. Settlers continued to take up land and the need for more schools was necessary. Old schools were repaired and others were built - several of brick - according to need.

The Pa. School Act of 1836 gave a few problems to the School Directors elected in 1824. However, several decisions were left to their thinking. The township was divided into eight (8) partitions, with about a 2 mile distance between schools. They were:
No. 1 - Love School - east end of Riethmiller Road.
No. 2 - Bethel, 1868
No. 3 - Greenfield, 1871
No. 4 - Frogtown, 1870
No. 5 - Bell School - Bartholomew Road, 1865
No.6 - Blackstone - Near Municipal Building, 1868
No7 - Marquis - on Garrett Lane, 1870
No. 8 - Zuver - No. 8 Road, 1873

Teachers were hired at a minimum salary. Most of them lived with a nearby family, if too far from home.

The township directors were known for having some of the best schools in Mercer Co. The total cost of building schools was $12,000. There were enrolled 161 males and 135 females.

The township directors agreed to build a two-room school in Greenfield in 1903. One room was for elementary students, the second to be used for a three-year high school.

1907 - The first class to graduate (6)
• Glennie McCullough (Bartholomew)
• Harry Thompson
• Ernest Campbell
• Charles Miller
• Conrad Anderson
• Jess Sowers

1908 - Second class to graduate
• Ethel Bridgett (Anderson)
• Minerva Stewart (Kimmel)
• Olive Somerville (Reed)
• Hayes Thompson
• Harry Bartholomew
• Dan Phythyon (became M.D.)

1908 - High School closed
(11 students had finished 2 years)
• Emma Ward (Burgess)
• Millie Gill
• Louella Root (Steingrabe)
• Marie Thompson
• Clara Shollenberger (Burdette)
• Mary Sample
• Helen Thompson
• Joseph Somerville
• Arthur Sewall
• Ray Stoner
• George Bohn

Lackawannock Township gradually bused students into West Middlesex as new buildings were completed.
• Jr.-Sr. High School - constructed 1952-1953
• Oakview Elementary - 1961-1962 (Grades 4-5-6)
•Luther W. Low Elementary - 1971-1974 (Grades K-3)
• Bus Garage - 1951