Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse
N 29° 53.838 W 081° 18.813
17R E 469727 N 3307446
Records show that this tiny house located in historic St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest wooden school building in the United States.
Waymark Code: WM2VK4
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 12/26/2007
Views: 56
The house first appears on St. Augustine's tax rolls in 1716, but it was constructed before then. By 1788, the building was only "in fair condition," according to a Spanish map of that time.
Originally, the building was a small homestead belonging to Juan Genoply. Juan Genoply later married and the house became a school, so he added an extra room. The schoolmaster lived upstairs with his family and used the first floor as a classroom. Boys and girls shared the same classroom, making the St. Augustine school the first in the young nation to go "co-ed."
Today, the schoolhouse resembles a theme park attraction. Mechanized figures dressed in 18th century attire greet visitors and describe a typical school day. Children can receive make-believe diplomas.
The schoolhouse is constructed of pest-resistant red cedar and cypress timbers secured with wooden pegs. Drinking water was drawn from a well, and a privy was dug away from the main building.
There's also an enormous anchor secured to the house with a long chain. This is not a part of the original construction. Worried that a hurricane might whisk the little schoolhouse away, townspeople added the anchor in 1937.
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