Adams County early education in a one-room school

By Sherry Larson

People’s Defender

Walking into the Page School on Vaughn Ridge Road in West Union resembles a scene from Little House on the Prairie. In my mind’s eye, I can see Laura and Mary Ingalls seated at their desks, bonnets tied around their fronts and hanging down their backs.

Retired teachers Mary Fulton, Secretary of the Adams County Historical Society, and Phil Rhonemus provide a tour and history of Page One-Room School. Rhonemus points out the building’s need for repair and explains that he hopes for grant funding.

The one-room school was built in 1827 and is one of the few that exist in Adams County today. Nicholas and Dorcus Blake owned the .25-acre plot of ground where the schoolhouse sits, deeding it to the Directors of School District 4. The Blakes received $4 for the land.