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A Brief History of Education in Templeton

In 1763, two years after incorporation, money was granted for the schools. In 1776, each of the town's divisions received an amount commensurate with the number of children between four and sixteen years of age. Three years later, the age extended to twenty-one. Schools were built by voluntary contributions, and often students were taught in private homes.

In 1787, a committee was formed to assess value and purchase schoolhouses from their owners. Monies were raised through taxation. In 1869, the district system was abandoned in favor of a town system. In 1834, a wooden building was built on School Street in East Templeton.
    In 1850, a two story wooden building was erected in Baldwinville, which was eventually razed by town consent. In Otter River, a two story building was erected in 1860, the ground floor being two schoolrooms and the second floor a public hall. This building burned in 1933.

In 1898, the school facilities at Baldwinville proved inadequate and an "extravagant" brick building with new plumbing and ventilation systems was erected, and housed elementary pupils.
    Across the street, the high school building served students until it burned in 1921. The hall in Otter River was then used for high school classes until the new building was opened on November 24, 1923. Since then, additional buildings have been built in Otter River (1933), East Templeton (1922), and Templeton Center (1942).

(Information is from Templeton Town Report)

A Brief History of Education in Phillipston

In 1788, the town was divided into six school districts. They were:

• Schoolhouse No. 1: the present library next to the town barn
  
• Schoolhouse No. 2: on Route 101 West of Queen Lake, now a private home
  
• Schoolhouse No. 3: corner of Route 101 and Barre Road, later a private home that burned. The first schoolhouse, the Federal School, was diagonally across from the site, on the east corner of Williamsville Road and Route 101.
  
• Schoolhouse No. 4: on a discontinued section of Ward Hill Road, northwest of Lincoln Road, below the Ward house. It was torn down, but the foundation remains.
  
• Schoolhouse No. 5: east of Old Highland Ave off Route 2A, was partly burned and rebuilt as a private home;
  
• Schoolhouse No. 6: one building in from the south corner of School House Road and South Royalston Road. Is now a private home.

After World War II the town had two grammar schools in operation, which officials felt were inadequate. They complained that teachers left after a few months because of lack of good heating, lighting, water, and sanitary facilities, and the fact that they had to teach three grades in one room. It was announced that it would cost more to repair the old schools than to build a new one, because federal money was available at the time.

The Memorial School on the Common was dedicated in August 1948, with expected enrollment only eight short of the 120 for which the building was planned. There were still two grades to a classroom, with four classrooms.

(Information is excerpted from the Phillipston "Bicentennial" book, 1986)