Once again we are backtracking to last week’s articles relevant to a photo of the South Hill School. This writer has taken the liberty to include it (hopefully) with the article and photos relevant to the above school district.

The photo(s) of the Root’s Corners school show the school in a boarded up building and the second photo shows the building, long after the school had closed and was used in conjunction with the adjoining farm as shown in the photograph. The assorted readers of this series of articles have passed on to my attention that the photos which show the children at the site is appreciated to great extent. This photo (I am hopeful may be included) shows students and teacher and in the first row, second from right is identified as Marcia Alcott (she being the mother of Kenneth Carney, resident of this city. In the last row the boy on the left is identified as Stanley Alcott (Ken’s uncle). This writer will acknowledge sincere appreciation to him for allowing this information to be included in the article,

Walter Ubele wrote in his extensive documentation of both the Guilford churches and Guilford schools that information was scant information regarding District #15 except that it did exist. This building, one of the earliest of the Guilford District schools is still standing and now belongs to the Guilford Historical Society. This active Historical Society has taken up the gauntlet (so to speak) and have restored the schoolhouse and grounds to the appearance of the school while still active.

Now you are probably wondering where is Root’s Corners! As you leave the village of Guilford to travel to Oxford, you will notice a left hand turn Gospel Hill. Travel up Gospel Hill until you come to the road Glover’s Corners (another left hand turn). Travel approximately a mile or two to the intersection of Bruffel Hill (formerly named Ives Settlement Road) and the Quarry Road (it is a 4 corners). On the right hand side you will view the schoolhouse still at its original site. The Historical Society uses the site in the summer months one occasion is their annual picnic. I will add that Bruffel Hill and Quarry Road are closed to vehicle traffic in the winter and not too well maintained during the rest of the year.

Mr. Ubele wrote originally that (at the time of writing) the building was used to store hay and it recalled to mind that Root’s Corners was once a flourishing community, and that several of the farmhouses were still standing and lived in. The Benkowitz Farm is one of the originals and if this writer’s memory is correct the Benkowitz family donated the building and grounds site to the Historical Society. Walter Ubele continued his writing stating that a church once stood on the corner, overlooking the valley. Probably correct as there is an abandoned cemetery on a bluff, overlooking the corner of Gospel Hill and Glover’s Corners Road. This long neglected cemetery (doubtful if you could locate today) is shielded by a stand of pines and weed-grown field. All of this area comprised the Guilford District #15.

He continued to write that Root’s Corners was one of the first district schools to be combined with the “new” Union School in the Village (subject of articles after 1/1/12). As was the case with the population decline in the outer limits of the Guilford town, the need for localized schools diminished and centralization was about to be instituted by the State of New York.