A History of Norway’s Schools

From the 19^th century into the 20^th century there were 18 school buildings in Norway. There were five in the village, and 13 district schools throughout the rural neighborhoods. While only one of the buildings still serves as a school, a surprising number are still standing.

The first school in Norway was in 1790, held at the residence of Peter Everett of North Norway. The first schoolhouse was built in 1794, on a now long-abandoned road that ran between Country Club Road and the Lake Road, somewhere near Pennesseewassee Park.

Early dates and details are not always available due to a fire at the town clerk’s home in 1843 that completely destroyed Norway’s early records.

The first school was built in 1806 on the Shedd Road near McIntire Road. It burned in January 1819 and was rebuilt in the summer. The town’s school reports of 1866 and 1867 noted the building suffered from “poor conditions” and was “worn out, unfit for use.” The school closed about 1894 and the seats were moved to the Holt School down the road. After closing, the building was used as a dwelling until it burned in the 1950s.

District 2 (Swift’s Corner)

The first schoolhouse was built in 1807, near the intersection of Morse and Patch Mt. Roads. This building was taken down in 1833 and a new school built a little further up Patch Mt. Road. A “North Norway Free High School” was held at Swift’s Corner intermittently between 1878 and 1881. A fire destroyed the school in 1919, but it was rebuilt in 1920. The school was closed in 1959 and in the early 1960s, was moved further north on the Patch Mt. Road, being remodeled into a residence.

School began at Norway Center in 1804, but the exact year a schoolhouse was built is not known. Repairs were noted over the years, but there is no report of destruction by fire, or building a new structure. It is possible this is the oldest remaining building in Norway that served as a school. The school closed in 1926 when the number of students declined to seven. It has been remodeled into a residence and remains at the same location on Norway Center Road.

District 4 (Yagger)

In June 1821, land was conveyed to School District No. 4. This could be the date the Yagger school was built, between the Hemmingway and Town Farm Roads. Classes were suspended from 1915 to 1920, due to lack of pupils and it was closed permanently in 1938. An addition was made to the building and it now serves as a residence.

As stated above, the first school serving the Norway Lake neighborhood was built in 1794 on a road that has disappeared. The school was destroyed by fire in 1816 and was rebuilt in 1817. An 1858 map shows the school at this old location. The school report of 1868 stated a new schoolhouse for District 5 had been built “on a beautiful site.” This is the present school building on the Lake Road. It closed in 1967, at the same time the three village one-room schoolhouses were closed. The attractive building remains.

District 6 (Pike’s Hill)

The first school was erected in 1800. A new building was built in 1856 (“a good commodious schoolhouse”) and remained in use until 1914. Located between Parsons and Old Stage Roads, it was converted to a residence, which has since been torn down. Sylvanus Cobb (1798-1866), a well-known Universalist minister, attended school at Pike’s Hill from 1804 to 1817.

Upper Primary – The first school in the village was built near the head of Main Street in 1805. It burned in 1866 and was replaced with the present building the same year. Sylvanus Cobb taught 80 scholars (more advanced students) at the Upper Primary from December 1820 to March 1821 for $3.00 a week. He noted that the school was cold and rickety. After the school closed in 1967, it was purchased by the Western Maine Art Group and now serves as the Lajos Matolcsy Art Center.

Lower Primary – Records disclose that land near Steep Falls was conveyed to the town in 1837, to be used for a school. A school was built in 1845, but it is not clear if this is the first building, or a replacement for an earlier structure. It closed in 1967. The building still stands, near the corner of Main and Fair Streets.  It is the only building that still serves as a school and now serves as the Streaked Mountain Alternative High School.

Middle Primary – Located on Tucker Street, the Middle Primary was built in 1908 at a cost of $1,800. Like the other village primary schools, it was closed in 1967.  It was used for a time by other enterprises, eventually becoming the property of the Catholic Church. The building was torn down in 1985 and the property is now a parking lot for the church.

High School – The Norway Liberal Institute, a private secondary school, began classes in 1847, in a building at the corner of Main and Paris Streets. A classroom building was built nearby and was dedicated in October 1848. The switch from a private to a public school occurred in 1865, when the town purchased the Institute and it became the publicly supported Norway High School.  The 1848 building was lost in the Great Fire of 1894 and a similar-looking replacement was built the same year. A new high school building was built next door in 1929, so the wooden structure became the Norway Elementary School.  When the Oxford Hills School District was formed and the Norway High School closed in 1961, the 1929 building became the Guy E. Rowe School, part of the elementary school complex. The 1894 wooden structure was demolished in 1984 and a large addition to the Rowe School was built in its place. The 1929 building remains as part of the Rowe School.