Our History
Within our museum walls are articles, pictures, tapes, and memories that will carry you back through the years to times long past. The building was constructed following the Civil War, in the year 1867. It was one of the first one-room schools in the area. The land was donated by the eastern district superintendent of the then-thriving Morris Canal, one of the many waterways then in existence to help promote trade and travel in America. William Hixson gave the land to the town for public purposes, with the stipulation that it could be reclaimed if used for a purpose with which his family disagreed. The building began serving Montville as a one-room school heated by a potbellied stove. It also served as an auxiliary to the local Methodist Church. It became the gathering place for the local temperance league in the 1890s, and was the scene of many temperance meetings in the town. Forty-four years after being erected, it changed from a school to the center of political ac...
