Locations of five One-Room Schoolhouses that closed in 1952; and The Avalong Connection
This post is a continuation of Springettsbury Township closed their last five One-Room Schoolhouses in 1952. About 200 Springettsbury Township students were still receiving One-Room Schoolhouse education during the 1951-1952 school year. When the Springettsbury Township School opened in the fall of 1952, the last five One-Room Schoolhouses, in the township, closed.
I’ve used the Springettsbury Township section of a 1911 PA State Highway Map to show the location of the last five One-Room Schoolhouses that closed in 1952. I’ve also pinpointed the location where the Springettsbury Township School was built; i.e. on the north side of Whiteford Road, midway between Mt. Zion Road and Williams Road. This location is now part of Springettsbury Township Park.
Springettsbury Township School no longer stands, however four of the five One-Room Schoolhouses still stand. In the coming weeks, I’ll continue this series, by taking a detailed look at each of these One-Room Schoolhouses.
The Springettsbury Township School Board indicated all pupils living more than a mile and a half from the new school would be transported by bus. I’ve indicated a 1.5-mile “walk” radius around the Springettsbury Township School. The students living at the top of Mt. Zion hill had quite a climb at the end of each school day.
The following October 9th, 1955 aerial photo shows the Springettsbury Township School. In 1950 this school was planned with 8 classrooms. By the time it opened in the fall of 1952, two additional classrooms had to be added, due to the surging population in the township; hence the signature feature of the school, the long hall.
Continue reading to discover the Avalong connection to the school.
The 331-Acre Meadowbrook Estate of Harold E. Robertson that was purchased, on January 3rd 1950, by Alva R. Long is plotted on the following March 19th 1938 Historic Aerial Photo from Penn Pilot.
The planning on where to locate the Springettsbury Township School begun soon after Alva Long acquired this farm, which he named Avalong Farms Dairy. The Avalong Mansion was located within the Springettsbury Independent School District; Whiteford Road being the dividing line. Thus Alva Long’s grandchildren would have normally gone to Yorkshire School or Hiestand School.
Alva Long preferred to keep his grandchildren closer to home, so he offered a site to the township for building the Springettsbury Township School; with the provision that his grandchildren might attend this school tuition free. And so, in 1952, that school would be the first building near the dog-leg intersection of Mt. Zion and Whiteford Roads.
The Avalong Farms Dairy Bar followed on the northwest corner in 1953. The October 9th, 1955 aerial photo, in the first part of this post, shows only the dairy bar on that date; i. e. no dining room and no Drive-In.
This ad for the Avalong Farms Dairy Bar appeared in the 1957 Panther Yearbook of Central York High School. The outdoor photo, within the ad, is the classic J. David Allen photograph taken March 24, 1956. A colorized version of this photo fills a wall inside the Metro Bank, that now occupies the same site. The other photo shows the inside of the Dairy Bar, likely also taken by J. David Allen the same day.
I’ve seen a directory reference to Lunger Farms Dairy Bar on this corner in 1955. I wonder if Lunger was the contractor that Alva Long hired to build the Dairy Bar? Or, was Lunger an earlier name for the Dairy Bar? If you’re curious about Arsenal Road being noted in the ad, check out this post.
What happened to Springettsbury Township School?
The 1976-1977 school year was the last year Central York School District held classes in the Springettsbury Township School. The mid-1970s saw a dip in student enrollments and with about 15 idle classrooms in the elementary schools, the School Board decided one of the schools had to be closed. Springettsbury Township School was selected.
The building was held in reserve and eventually rented out to York Technical Institute, when they made the move out of the City of York. York Technical Institute (YTI) eventually built a new building, a short distance to the east. On December 14, 1989, Central York School District sold the Springettsbury Township School building and the 12.5-acre property to Springettsbury Township so that they might expand the township park.
This is part 2 of the story about Springettsbury Township School and the five One-Room Schoolhouses it replaced. Other posts in this series includes:
- Springettsbury Township closed their last five One-Room Schoolhouses in 1952
- Upheaval at the One-Room Schoolhouse
- Stony Brook One-Room Schoolhouse (1913-1952)
- Photo of Students that attended Stony Brook One-Room School in 1949
- Witmer’s One-Room Schoolhouse (1889-1952)
- Witmer’s One-Room Schoolhouse named for Preacher David Witmer
- Miller’s One-Room Schoolhouse (~1860-1952)
- Glades Two-Room Schoolhouse
- Memories of Miller’s One-Room Schoolhouse and the Surrounding Area
- Rocky start for Longstown One-Room Schoolhouse
- Longstown One-Room Haunted Schoolhouse
- Ghost mystery of Longstown Schoolhouse solved
- York County Tourist Information Center and Avalong
- Working in the Family Business; Avalong Farms Dairy Bar
- Parade of Vintage Cars in Springettsbury Township
