Introduction

In 1851 Pomeroy (Pomroy) Jones, author of Annals and Recollections of Oneida County, wrote, "From its earliest settlement the inhabitants of Westmoreland have shown a liberal spirit in the education of their children" and suggested "they did not wait until sawmills were built" but instead erected "rude log houses with bark roofs ... to accomodate their children while acquiring the rudiments of an education." (pgs. 778-779)

The Society's collection does not include records from the log schools of the late 1700s, but one book of trustee minutes begins in 1817, and other volumes document school-related activities through the 1940s.

Explore the categories below to learn about some of the Society's holdings. If you find an item of interest, please stop by the Historical Society Room during open hours or contact us to make other arrangements. If you do not see the records you need, feel free to ask for assistance.

We are actively working to arrange and describe our archival records. Additional school records will be added to this page regularly throughout 2024. Some of those updates will be featured on our blog.

Attendance Registers

Photographs

The Society holds many school-related photographs, but they are not yet arranged and described. Please contact us for more information.

Trustee Accounts and Minutes

Title: Westmoreland School District No 1 Trustee Account Book 1845-1846
Description: This volume names trustees and those who provided goods or services for the school district. It also lists income (from tax, public, and library funds) and expenditures (for items such as building materials, labor, cleaning, and school supplies). Pages labeled "Inventory of Personal Property" list school items such as maps, desks, and library books.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Westmoreland School District No 1 Trustee Account Book 1899-1917
Description: This volume names trustees, teachers, custodians, and those who provided goods or services for the school district. It also lists income from sources such as tuition and tax money, and expenditures for items such as teacher salaries, cleaning, and wood.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Westmoreland School District No 1 Trustee Minutes Book 1903-1918< br> Description: This volume names trustees and includes information-rich summaries of board activities such as discussions, motions, and expenditures. Many documents interleaved including a one-page undated list of parents and students; a typed resolution on building new school; an order related to purchasing Sweeting property; a document outlining the boundaries of “Union Free School District No. 1” that was organized “in or about the year 1904”; paperwork related to bonds; and handwritten note mentioning an April 1930 meeting of voters from Westmoreland School Districts 1, 4, 5, 7, 9 and Whitestown School District No. 9.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Westmoreland School District No. 2 Minutes Book 1817-1844
Description: This volume is titled “Records of School District No. 2 in the Town of Westmoreland A.D. 1817.” The entries continue through 1844 and include information such as trustee, clerk, and collector names; resolutions and the related votes; and financial information. The early minutes are difficult to read, but the handwriting becomes more legible from the 1820s forward. In addition to the routine minutes, there are three unique topics of note: obtaining land to move the school site closer to the center of the district; addressing a request for a few residents to be moved to School District No. 6; and seeking an answer to the question of the qualifications necessary for voting at district meetings. Information related to these three topics, including copies of correspondence, resolutions, and lists of voters and their votes on resolutions, is recorded in the minutes book. Pages 70-84, 100-107, and 230-235 record what appears to be unrelated household accounts from 1906-1907. The volume contains an index beginning on page 181. The contents include meeting dates; resolutions to hire teachers; wood purchases, and lists of trustees, clerks, and collectors, 1817-1844.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: School Districts No. 11 and No. 4 Trustee Account Book 1844-1921
Description: This volume begins with one-page financial summaries showing income and expenditures for School District No. 11 from 1845-1851. The few names that appear are for individuals who taught or for those who provided other services or goods. From 1852-1884 the entries are labeled “School District No. 4.” From 1885 the entries are not labeled with a school district.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Westmoreland School District No. 6 & 16 Minutes Book 1855-1930
Description: This volume describes the “Westmoreland and Kirkland” school district as “School District No. 6” from 1 January 1855 through the report “for the year 1857” and then refers to it as “School District No. 16.” The book includes information-rich reports to the Town Superintendent of Common Schools which include details on the school house, teachers, and finances, and provide school censuses that name a parent and the number of children in the household.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Westmoreland School District No. 16 Account Book 1920-1924
Description: This volume documents School District No. 16 expenses from 1920-1924. Entries include items such as teacher wages, wood and coal, school house maintenance including cleaning, medical examinations, and school supplies.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Westmoreland School District No. 16 Account Book 1924-1931
Description: This volume documents School District No. 16 expenses 1924-1931. It appears to be a continuation of School District No. 16 Account Book 1920-1924.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Central School District, Property Owners, 1946
Description: This volume records information under headings such as Name of Owner, Last Owner or Reputed Owner; Location (usually a street name); Side of Street (indicated as N, S, E, W, or B); North, South, East, West Boundaries (indicated by names of property owners); Town, Number of Acres, Value of Land; and Value of and Building. The entries are grouped by school district numbers.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Central School District, Property Owners, 1948
Description: This volume lists “Central School” property owners broken down into districts: District No. 1; District No. 2; District No. 3 Lairdsville; District No. 4 Hecla; District No. 5 Reese; District No. 6 Lowell; District No. 7 Bartlett; District No. 8 Quaker; District No. 9 Route 233; District No. 10 Dix; District No. 11 Skinner; District No. 12 Goodrich; District No. 13 Spencer Settlement; District 14 Route 5; District 15 College Hill; District No. 16 Salt Point; District No. 9 Whitestown Walesville; District No. 2 Verona; District No. 15 Rome; and District No. 2 Kirkland. The column headings mirror those listed for the 1946 volume above.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Whitestown School District No. 9 Minutes Book 1853-1907
Description: This volume begins with minutes of the annual school meeting held in April of 1853. The minutes include motions and financial information. They regularly name trustees, clerks, collectors, librarians, and may name teachers or those who provided other services or goods. Of note are resolutions related to building a new school house.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Whitestown School District No. 9 Minutes Book 1905-1929
Description: This volume begins with minutes of the annual school meeting held on 1 August 1905 and continues through May of 1929. The minutes include financial reports and motions regarding the maintenance of school facilities. Other topics include, but are not limited to, non-resident students, hiring an additional teacher because of increased student enrollment, building a "new fence dividing the girls and boys side of grounds," hiring a primary teacher in February to finish the school year, installing "sanitary toilets," and "dividing of the district to Clark Mills. Surnames include Armstrong, Ashley, Bally, Barron, Batty, Bell, Benson, Berlin, Bill, Bliss, Brown, Brownell, Bryant, Buell, Clarkin, Darendorf, Dawes, Ferry, Flickinger, Genter, Haas, Hemstreet, Lee, Lynch, Marsh, Newman, Norman, O’Brien, Sawner, Smith, Smyth, Snyder, Starring, Steele, Walls, Whitford, Wilson, and Wrench.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Title: Whitestown School District No. 9 Account Book 1889-1915
Description: This first pages of this volume do not appear to be school related. They include scribbles, mathematical calculations, and a list that includes calf boots, coffee, tea, and molasses. The remainder of the book lists income from sources such as taxes and public money, and expenditures for items such as cleaning, painting, and a flag. Some entries record teachers or those who provided goods such as wood or coal and services such as cleaning and building repair. Surnames include Allen, Armstong, Ashley, Ayer, Baker, Barnard, Beaucatrine, Bell, Bellinger, Blankman, Bolton, Bordeen, Boulton, Brennan, Brownell, Buell, Burtle, Carey, Cauldwell, Clarey, Clark, Coats, Cook, Craig, Crego, Cross, Coggleshall, Daley, Dawes, Dies, Dixon, Duffy, Earle, Eldridge, Excman, Farley, Flickinger, Ford, Frank, Franz, Gibbon, Glatt, Goodwin, Grange, Gray, Greenfield, Gubbins, Hall, Halsey, Hawes, Hayes, Hemstreet, Hughes, Johnston, Jones, Kellogg, Lattimore, Lawler, Lee, Lorin, MacArena, Manktelow, McVaney, McAvena, McEntee, McNetton, McVany, Mitchell, Monahan, Moore, Mowers, Murphy, Navin, Newman, Noble, Nolan, O’Brien, Owens, Oyer, Page, Parker, Peck, Phillips, Race, Rouse, Sawner, Schied, Schuyler, Schwaiger, Sherman, Smythe, Stoddard, Teale, Thompson, Vanderfoot, Walliman, Wells, Whitford, Williams, Wilson, and Yates.
Scanned: Yes
Indexed: No

Yearbooks

Banner Image: A collage of example documents from the School Records collection.