AFTON – Returning to the Afton District schools, bear in mind and this has been written previously, that the Afton School District encompassed not only in Chenango County but spilled over to both Broome and Delaware counties. Such is the case with the Vallonia Springs School. Once again the credit for the information in this article must be given to Charles Decker for his extensive research in the history of the one-room schools in the Township of Afton.

As will be noticed with the photo accompanying this article, it shows the students with the school house in the background. Documentation on the back of this photo is written “Vallonia Springs School No. #14 - circa 1929-1930.” Pupils pictured were Ruth Murdock, Eunice Fredenburg, and Sands, Terrys, Livingstons Merritts and Gregorys families. From the many photos that have been given for these articles, usually it is the school building, and usually not showing students. We are fortunate that at some point in time someone took the time and effort to photograph students and there is a fairly large collection of student photos, but our primary reason is documentation of the history of the building itself, if known. There are many “mysteries” of history that would like to be solved, but at times that is not possible. In one of the future articles it will be doing noted that after the schoolhouse (not Afton) was sold to a private individual, the building was torn down, and the school records burned. Great losses of history to say the least, as school enrollment records are a wealth of historical information!

Not to deviate from the purpose of this article, District School No. 14 is located on Route 41 in the hamlet of Vallonia Springs. Vallonia Springs has a rather interesting history in itself, but that is another story!