Commonly called "Hot Potato School", the one-room Pullen's Corner School was relocated in 2017 from another part of town to Chase Farm in Lincoln, Rhode Island. An historical marker stands just west of the building with white siding, gable roof, and a bell hung above the door. Eight photographs accompany the extensive text which reads:
PULLEN'S CORNER SCHOOLHOUSE
'Hot Potato School'
This one-room schoolhouse, known as Pullen's Corner School (c.1850), was once located at the heart of Smithfield's School District No. 19, prior to the formation of the Town of Lincoln in 1871. Before its relocation to Chase Farm Park in 2017, Pullen's Corner School served a rural community in the western part of town at 150 Angell Road at the intersection of Whipple Road. It closed in 1922 when the newly-built Lincoln Community School on Breakneck Hill Road opened, replacing all the town's one-room schoolhouses.
Pullen's Corner School became commonly known as the 'Hot Potato School' because the superintendent was amused by the fact that the teacher, Estelle Collier, would cook potatoes donated from a local farm so that the children could have hot lunches.
SCHOOL DAYS
Before the days of automobiles, children walked to school, many trekking a mile or more each way in the heat of the summer and through rain and snow. The school year was set by the needs of the farmers who
depended upon their children to help with planting and harvests. The winter term was from November to April and the summer term from May to August.
The curriculum stressed reading, good penmanship, and arithmetic. Books were expensive so they were shared. Rather than paper, students wrote on small slate boards. Older students helped with teaching the
younger ones. Students would memorize and recite. Good behavior and strict discipline were the order of the day. Teachers punished those who misbehaved or did not abide by the rules by giving lashes with a stick or a whip, with the severity of the offense determining the number of lashes for wearing long finger nails, 2 lashes; calling each other ill names 3 lashes; for boys and girls playing together 4 lashes for drinking liquor at school 8 lashes; the worst offenses were playing cards at school or misbehaving to girls 10 lashes.
Just like today, recess Was a favorite time for students to take a break from their work and to play games such as hoops, jump ropes and graces.
THE LIFE OF A TEACHER
Teachers were typically 19-20 years old and both male and female. They
would have received their teacher's certificate by attending the Normal School (later known as Rhode Island College) for two years. Many lived in the homes of their students and rode to school by horse and buggy. Teachers filled many roles including being nurse, janitor, art and music instructor, and principal.
There was a vast difference in the treatment of male and female teachers. Records show that in 1859, the school committee contracted Edmund A. Angell to teach here for a monthly salary of $30. By contrast, Jane Smith was awarded a teaching contract at Pullen's Corner for $15 a month. Men teachers were permitted one evening each week for courting purposes, while women teachers who married or engaged in unseemly conduct were dismissed.