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History of the Red Schoolhouse

District #5, East Campbell, New York

The East Campbell area was settled in 1816 by colonists who traded their farms in Vermont for wild lands of our area owned by David and William Holmes.  The original colonists were Jonas and Jacob Woodward, Hinsdale Hammond and Stephen Corbin.  Jonas Woodward settled on the place now owned by Mrs. Emma Huggins, next to the little bridge over Dry Run Creek in East Campbell.  Jacob Woodward built his log house across the Dry Run Creek from Jonas in 1817.
   
“The first school in the settlement was taught in the hunter’s cabin by Rhoda Simmons in 1817.  The next school was taught in a frame barn (owned by Jonas Woodward).  Betsey, wife of Joseph Woodward, and Joseph’s sister, Mrs. Davis, were among the early teachers.  The first schoolhouse proper was a log building on land now owned by David Cook.” (History of Steuben County, NY, by Prof. W. W. Clayton, 1879).

            In 1825, the school trustees purchased property on the Meads Creek Road on which a school was to be built.  This area, at that time, was District #9 of Painted Post.  When it became necessary to replace the log school, a site on Dry Run Road was agreed upon.  In February, 1839, the site of the present Red Schoolhouse was deeded to the trustees, and in October of 1839, the school and property on Meads Creek Road were sold.  The 1857 Steuben County Map and the 1873 Beers Atlas for Campbell show the location of the Cook property and the location where the present school stands.

            The Red Schoolhouse was referred to as being “red” in the early minutes of the Town of Campbell in 1842 – they noted that “the next town meeting to be held at the Red Schoolhouse on Meads Creek in School District #5”. (Page 47)  In 1843, “the meeting was held at the school near Seth Hammond’s.”  In the 1940s, the red school was painted white.  Mr. Thomas Watson, while visiting his home property nearby, noted the white school, and soon after, it was painted back to the original red.

            We know the Red Schoolhouse was used for several community functions, an occasional funeral, church services, and at one time in early 1900 according to a history written by Ellsworth Cowles, was an outpost mission of the Painted Post Baptist Church.  Daily vacation Bible school was also held there (on display is a certificate that was issued to Mary Tubbs).  The East Campbell Fire Department met in the school for its monthly meetings during the winter months before their new fire station was built.  The Hill and Valley Home Bureau also met regularly at the school.

            Some notable people who attended the Red Schoolhouse are:  Thomas J. Watson, founder of IBM Corporation and donor of the property for the Watson Homestead Memorial Foundation; Wilson Messer, teacher, businessman and legislator who taught school there and was a school trustee;  George D. Cornell also attended church services and later became a teacher who taught in several area schools including the Red Schoolhouse (the Honor Roll in Campbell Central School was named for him when he was principal);  Anna Henderson, head of personnel at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY.  Several former students became teachers, ministers and leaders in various occupations scattered throughout the United States.  The Red Schoolhouse closed in 1956 upon the consolidation of all Corning area schools.

            In 2001, the Red Schoolhouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places because it was the first school attended by Thomas Watson Sr.   On September 8, 2001, a celebration was held at the school attended by regional friends, Red Schoolhouse alumni and Watson Homestead guests.   U.S. Congressman Amory Houghton Jr., State Assemblyman James Bacalles and State Senator Randy Kuhl attended and spoke as part of the celebration.

            The 1839 Red Schoolhouse at East Campbell continues to remain a treasured piece of history in this beautiful region of New York State.