Hamden School District No. 1 was organized in September 1826 to meet the educational needs of the growing rural community. The district encompassed the lower part of the town, on both sides of the Delaware River, near the border with the town of Walton, around the hamlet of Mallory Corners. There were originally eight school districts in the town of Hamden, with the number of schools growing to 12 by 1832 and eventually peaking at more than twenty schools.

The original Hamden District No. 1 School building was located across the road on land donated by John Combs, a veteran of the American Revolution and one of the earliest settlers in the district. Combs came from New Durham, New York and arrived in 1805. That school building served the community from 1828 to 1858.

The current historic Hamden District No. 1 School building was built in 1859. It was located on a quarter-acre plot of land purchased from Wesley and Ferris Terry for ten dollars. The school is sited a small, flat, grassy site, amid several stands of mature trees. The wood for the school was milled on the farm of William Mallory, which was located a short distance away. James Russell was paid 88 cents to grade the lot and lay up the stone foundation. The school continuously served the community for 95 years until its closing in 1954, when it closed due to state-wide school district consolidation.

After the school closed, the Sprague family purchased the building, and Clifford Sprague, an industrial arts teacher in Downsville, used the building as a woodworking shop. In 2014 the town of Hamden purchased the building from the descendants of Harold Sprague and subsequently secured funding from the New York State and Municipal Capital program to restore the school, which was completed in 2016.

The building is now home to the Hamden Schoolhouse Museum, which is open to the public and contains a variety of historical artifacts and exhibits.

The Hamden District No. 1 school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a “representative intact example of a mid-nineteenth century one-room schoolhouse in the town of Hamden” and as lasting testament to “a century of education history in the small riverside school district.”

Hamden District No. 1 SchoolThe current historic Hamden District No. 1 School building was built in 1859. It was located on a quarter-acre plot of land purchased from Wesley and Ferris Terry for ten dollars. The school is sited a small, flat, grassy site, amid several stands of mature trees. The wood for the school was milled on the farm of William Mallory, which was located a short distance away. James Russell was paid 88 cents to grade the lot and lay up the stone foundation. The school continuously served the community for 95 years until its closing in 1954, when it closed due to state-wide school district consolidation.

After the school closed, the Sprague family purchased the building, and Clifford Sprague, an industrial arts teacher in Downsville, used the building as a woodworking shop. In 2014 the town of Hamden purchased the building from the descendants of Harold Sprague and subsequently secured funding from the New York State and Municipal Capital program to restore the school, which was completed in 2016.

The building is now home to the Hamden Schoolhouse Museum, which is open to the public and contains a variety of historical artifacts and exhibits.

Town of Hamden, District No. 1 SchoolhouseThe current historic Hamden District No. 1 School building was built in 1859. It was located on a quarter-acre plot of land purchased from Wesley and Ferris Terry for ten dollars. The school is sited a small, flat, grassy site, amid several stands of mature trees. The wood for the school was milled on the farm of William Mallory, which was located a short distance away. James Russell was paid 88 cents to grade the lot and lay up the stone foundation. The school continuously served the community for 95 years until its closing in 1954, when it closed due to state-wide school district consolidation.

After the school closed, the Sprague family purchased the building, and Clifford Sprague, an industrial arts teacher in Downsville, used the building as a woodworking shop. In 2014 the town of Hamden purchased the building from the descendants of Harold Sprague and subsequently secured funding from the New York State and Municipal Capital program to restore the school, which was completed in 2016.

The building is now home to the Hamden Schoolhouse Museum, which is open to the public and contains a variety of historical artifacts and exhibits.

Site of Original District No. 1, Hamden School HouseThe current historic Hamden District No. 1 School building was built in 1859. It was located on a quarter-acre plot of land purchased from Wesley and Ferris Terry for ten dollars. The school is sited a small, flat, grassy site, amid several stands of mature trees. The wood for the school was milled on the farm of William Mallory, which was located a short distance away. James Russell was paid 88 cents to grade the lot and lay up the stone foundation. The school continuously served the community for 95 years until its closing in 1954, when it closed due to state-wide school district consolidation.

After the school closed, the Sprague family purchased the building, and Clifford Sprague, an industrial arts teacher in Downsville, used the building as a woodworking shop. In 2014 the town of Hamden purchased the building from the descendants of Harold Sprague and subsequently secured funding from the New York State and Municipal Capital program to restore the school, which was completed in 2016.

The building is now home to the Hamden Schoolhouse Museum, which is open to the public and contains a variety of historical artifacts and exhibits.