Rowe — Educational
Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.
It is generally believed that Rev. Cornelius Jones taught the first school in Rowe, in a small cabin near the centre, some time before the Revolution. Sept. 14, 1785, the town voted to have three school divisions, to be formed by Jonas Gleason, Benjamin Brown, and William Taylor. The report of this committee, made the following year, denominated the districts as the north, the, east, and the west divisions. In the two last named school-houses were built soon after, and, in 1789, three months' school were taught in each of them at the expense of the town. The school-house in the east district was of stone, and stood near the old Wells place.
In 1790 the town voted to pay Isaac Langdon 13s. for boarding the schoolmaster and his horse two weeks, and-made an appropriation of £30 for schooling. Seven years later three school-houses were ordered to be built, and the following year it was "Voted that the tax laid on dogs the present year be appropriated to the support of schools, each division to been-titled to the money that it pays for said animals."
In 1878 the town had seven school districts, in each of which two terms of school were maintained per year, at a cost of about $1000. The total number of scholars enrolled was 226, and the supervising committee was composed of V. M. Porter, L. E. Henry, and J. A. Stanford.
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