On occasion with the almost complete loss of information, this series of articles is written with two district schools of a particular township. Such is the case this week, but perhaps all is well that ends well as the majority of the population is occupied with holiday preparations.

The map which shows with this article gives us a location of the school site in the 1875 Atlas of Chenango County. Bear in mind that County Route 35 and New York State Route 8 have been upgraded and changed since this was first published. This early schoolhouse when the first one was built was near the covered bridge which crosses the Unadilla River at East Guilford (New Berlin Junction). Misfortune was the fate of the first schoolhouse as it burned and a new was built down on the four corners. We will assume that the covered bridge was up river a short distance from the one now crossing the river.

After the closing of this District #17 and it was probably due to lack of attendance the building was empty for a number of years. In 1969 the Presbyterian Church was either given this building, or purchased it and moved it to be attached to the rear of the Church edifice and to be used as Sunday school rooms and most likely meeting rooms. The how, when, where and what concerning this building is, at this time a mystery to this writer. However, with Tom Gray’s (Guilford historian) new book relevant to the school a district in the Guilford Township is published, perhaps these mysteries will be solved.

Continuing with our documentation we arrive at District #19 - Puckerville, it is regrettable that no photo exists that at present is known of. This writer will quote verbatim what Walter Ubele documented in his writings of Gullford churches and schools. “Just down the hill, going East on Rockdale Road toward Route 8, there is a small meadow, with trees in the background. A sign states this is “The Guilford Road & Gun Club.” This level meadow was the site of the Puckerville School District #19. Although the little schoolhouse is no longer there students were still attending as late as 1931.

The Puckerville School was a small school by numbers, and the origin of the name is not known. There was only an average of eight to ten students in the school before consolidation. It was still in existence at the time of the old Union School, located in Guilford hamlet. The students’ names were listed in the 1921 (first) issue of “The Pinnacle.” Their ages ranged from 5 years old in Grade 1, through 15 years old in Grade 7.