A Special Project of the Mt Zion Historical Society
Gray School
The Gray School and it's last six teachers
Alice Reed Gray
Gladys Birch
Izola Huff
Bertha Ovell
Lena Singer Burke
Victor Benigni
HISTORY OF BENNETT'S VALLEY SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION
Like many others, the school systems of Bennett's Valley started with many one room schools and followed through
with successive stages of consolidation, jointure and merger--On July 1, 1965 the St. Marys Area School District
included St. Marys and the Townships of Benzinger, Benezette, Jay,and Fox. What follows is a short history of the
schools in Jay and Benezette Townships. This information has come from three standard sources of history in this area:
History of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter Counties, Penn(Vol 2); History of Jay and Benezette Townships in
Bennett’s Valley; and Pioneers of the Second Fork by Jim Burke
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Early School Life
The pioneer school houses and the curriculum offered to the students of the early settlers of Elk County were quite
primitive when measured by today’s standards. The typical early school house was generally quite small,
approximately 18’ x 20’, one room structures with a single outhouse located close by to provide both the teacher and
students necessary facilities. The old Mt. Zion School was said to be a long cabin structure. Heat, if any, was a
pot-belly wood stove generally located in the middle of the room. Oil lamps provided the lighting for the room.
Some of the early schools were conducted in community building. Such was the case in Medix and Dents Run.
In most cases a teacher who came to the community to teach was young, unmarried, with a minimal amount of training.
It was common for them to board with a local resident and would walk to school as did the student attending school.
The teacher was generally responsible for keeping the building clean, providing for the heat, and serving as a nurse
when needed. The Ovell house on Mt. Zion Road boardered a number of teachers who taught at the Gray Hill School House.
The curriculum in the early pioneer school had many peculiarities in habit and in diction, the words "would and could"
were pronounced by some wold and cold, the letter "x" was pronounced sed, and had been pronounced a short time previous
izzard, the words "cubic, music" and others, now ending in "ic", were written cubick, musick, and the words ending "in"
or were spelled and written "our", as honour, labour, etc. In those schools there were no blackboards in use; slates
were used for that purpose, and examples in the lessons in the arithmetic were performed on the slate. The pens used
were made from the goose-grill, the ink from maple bark, copperas and pokeberries. Dilworth’s and Webster’s spellers,
which were succeeded by Comley’s and Byerly’s Murray’s English reader and introduction were the principal books used in
those schools. The arithmetics were Pike’s and Dilworth’s; Walker’s abridged vocabulary was referred to as a standard
on pronunciation, providing the schoolmaster was so fortunate as to have one in his possession. Spelling from memory,
words given out or pronounced by the teacher, produced somewhat of emulation, and as the higher branches were not taught,
the pupils having more time and by frequent exercises in orthography became excellent spellers.
In June, 1854, there were only twenty nine schools in Elk County. The first teacher’s institute in the county was held in June, 1856, under the supervision of Dr. Earley, and from
that time was held annually until the position of Superintendent of Schools was abolished over one hundred years later.
Those of record attending the 1884 from Jay and Benezette Townships included: from Benezette area was W.J. King, Maud
Paddock, Edith Henry, Mary Gray, and Mary Haskin, from Dry Saw Mill (Grant) Mary Reed, and from the Weedville area
their was J.H. Hayes and Lawrence. The report of Superintendent C. J. Swift, on the schools of Elk county, dated
June 4, 1888, gives the following statistics: 81 school houses or 99 rooms; 10 grade schools; 28 male and 89
female teachers; 1,890 male and 1645 female pupils, of whom 2,440 attended schools; school tax $37,196.69,
State monies $3,203.21, total revenue $44,930.52; teachers’ salaries $23,613.15; total expenders $41,930.47,
including salaries, and $9,357.67 expended on houses and rents.
ELK COUNTY’S FIRST SCHOOLS
Elk County's first school was opened in 1821 at Medix Run then known as Medoc Run. This school was presided over by Cephas
Morey. Classes we held in a two room community building for a class of three students. A school served this community
continually for the next one hundred and ten years – from 1821 to 1931. Cephas had, at the age of 11, accompanied his family
to settle here in 1813. The Morey family is acknowledged as the founder of Medix Run, and were very active in the development
of both county and local townships.
One year later, Potter Goff, a veteran of the War of 1812, opened Elk County’s second school in what is now Jay Township
in the Mt. Zion area. Potter (Peter) Goff came to the Bennett’s Branch to settle in 1817. His first wife died in 1834
and in 1836 he married the widow Ann M. Luce, and took up residence on W. F. Luce farm later known as the Gray farm on Gray
Hill Road. Potter Goff died November 12, 1846, and is buried in a family cemetery next to the farm.
Very few school records survived of Jay and Benezett Townships prior to the turn of the Twentieth Century. It is
interesting to note the rich pioneering heritage of Bennett’s Valley as it pertains to Elk County. Elk County's first
schools, post office, first saw mill, first tannery all began in the Bennett’s Valley. In addition, Caledonia served as the
first county seat of Elk County, the first court of the county was held at the old school building.
BENEZETTE TOWNSHIP SCHOOL HISTORY
Benezette Township’s first school was the one Cephas Morey opened in Medix Run. The second was the Huston Hill School,
located in the north-eastern corner of the township. This school closed its doors in 1929, and children on Huston
Hill continued their education either in Sterling Run, Cameron County or in Benezette. The third school was Mt. Pleasant
School on Winslow Hill that closed in 1931. The fourth school was Dents Run that closed in 1941. Both the Mt. Pleasant
and Dent Run schools were incorporated into the Benezett School.
Wilmer’s (now a ghost town – a memory of the past) school, was in service from 1903 to 1930. The Hicks Run School was
in service between 1907 and 1908. The first school in the Grant area was opened in 1909 and was known at the Johnson School.
The Johnsons were the first settlers in Grant and Summerson. The school was moved to Grant the following year and
functioned up to 1931.
All the above schools eventually came under the jurisdiction of Benezett Township School District.
This School District became the center of learning for the students of Benezett Township. The first high school here was
established in 1883 when eight students were graduated. This was believed to be the first high school in Bennett’s Valley.
The number of grades in the high school varied through the years. It started with a one-year high and continued to grow to
a two- year high, then a three-year high, and for one year, 1932, a four-year high school was in operation. Clair Gallagher,
Reed McManigle, and Earl VanLew were the graduates of this only four-year class and were known as the "three wise men";
there were no girls in this class. From 1932 until 1954 pupils could attend the school of their choice outside the
Township to continue their senior year and the tuition for that year was paid by the Benezette Township School District.
In October 28, 1952, a jointure was formed between Benzett and Jay Townships forming the Bennett’s Valleys School District.
In 1956-57, following the addition to the high school building in Weedville, the Benezett’s high school was moved to
Weedville. Benezett’s last high school graduation class was in 1956. The elementary school in Benezett continued on until
July 1, 1965, when the Bennett’s Valley School District merged with The St. Mary’s Area School. After this dated the
elementary students of Benezett attended the elementary school in Weedville. The Benezett school house building contiues
to serve as a community building.
JAY TOWNSHIP SCHOOL HISTORY
A Caledonia school was opened quite early in the history of Elk County. We can not locate an exact date; however, when the
first courts of Elk County were held on December 19, 1843, the site was originally named as the Hezekiah Warner’s house,
but soon later changed to the old Caledonia School House. We assume that the first school in Caledonia was started sometime
about 1820, give or take a few years. The last school in Caledonia was a two story frame building located at east end of
town on Route 555 ("triple-nickle"). This school was closed in 1941, and the students of Caledonia became part of the
Weedville School. At the turn of the Twentieth Century there were seven schools in Jay Township. The Paine School
located near Fairview was
operational up to 1901. Second was the Mountain School in the Mt. Zion area which by some accounts was referred to
as the old log school house. Third was the Webb School located near Weedville. This school closed in 1903.
Fourth, the Spring Run School that was located on the old road that led from Benezett to Earlyville (Kersey) in Spring
Run, near the upper end of what is now the Old Dodge Road. According to state records this school closed in 1911.
Bertha Ovell visited this school building in 1917 and described the building is being approximately 18’ x 20’.
She said that the
building did not have any windows. The side walls and the back wall where lined with blackboards. Oil lights provided
the lighting, and the in the middle of the building was a cast iron pot-belly stove. The Natives referred to this school
as the Dodge School as the school was on Dodge property located near the Dodge homestead. One of the last to teach
at this school was Ada McKreghty.
Jay Township’s fifth school was the Pike School located on Caledonia Road about half way between the Mt. Zion Road and
the juncture of Caledonia Road and Route 255. The Caledonia Road was known as the Caledonia Pike Road, as this road was
once a section of the Milesburg Turnpike. The Pike School closed in 1926.
The Gray Hill School House was located near the juncture of Rock Hill and Gray Hill Road and served the students of the
Mt. Zion Area. The last six teachers of the Gray Hill School were Alice Reed Gray, Gladys Birch, Izola Huff, Bertha
Ovell, Lena Singer Burke and Victor Benigni. Victor Benigni boardered at the Ovell residence while teaching at the
Gray Hill School House.
On Gardner Hill, the Gardner School was started in 1903 and was in existence only three years; the Beck School served
its pupils from 1907 to 1935; and the Wheeler School was in operation from 1918 to 1925. Teaching facilities were provided
when the towns of Byredale, Force, and Cardiff were constructed. Byrnedale opened its doors in 1901 and closed them in
1948. The first school building in Force, called the Little White School, was above the Catholic Cemetery; later a two
story building was erected near the middle of the town, and in 1942 all pupils were transported to Weedville. Children
attended the one room school in Cardiff from 1905 to 1935.
The old two story frame school in Weedville served as a grade and high school until 1918 when the building was razed
by fire. The following year, while a new building was being constructed, the students were housed in the Red Men Hall,
the Union Hall, the Turley Hall and the Election House. The new building again served as a grade and high school. The
first High School Class was graduated in 1911 when six students received their three year high school diploma. Those
graduated were Magdalene Dill, Guy Gardner, Ernest Ovel, Sr., Lane Foust, Bertha Dill, and Edna Wright. In 1923 the
curriculum was changed from a three year high to a four year high school. Crowded conditions necessitated the construction
of a new high school in 1942.
Eventually Weedville became the center of education for Jay Township. On October 28, 1952 a jointure was formed between
Jay Township and Benezett, forming the Bennett’s Valley School District. In 1956-57, following the addition to high school
building in Weedville, the Benezett’s high school was moved to Weedville.
In July 1, 1965, the Bennett’s Valley High School merged with St. Mary’s, and became part of the St. Mary’s Area School
District. The Jay and Benezett Township Elementary Schools were closed. The Jay Township high school was converted to an
elementary school severing both Jay and Bennett Townships, and the middle and high school students of Jay and Benezett
Townships would attend the schools in St. Mary’s.
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