Pleasant Valley Public School

Chronology of the school's history

School District 1 was created in the early 19th century and comprised the Pleasant Valley area.  The earliest known school house was built on what is today Pleasant Valley Road between the intersections of Valley Road and Hunter Road.  It is shown on maps as early as 1826 and 1849.

April 24, 1889 - A special meeting of the community was held at the school house to consider raising a district school tax for the purpose of building a new school house.  The proposal passed with 38 voting in favor and 11 voting against.

At the same meeting, the decision was made to locate the school at what was known as Ely's Corner near the center of Pleasant Valley.  This was a corner of the farm owned by the Gervas Ely family of Lambertville, today the Birum farm owned by Mercer County. Two other sites were rejected - Belmont Farm at the intersection of Valley Road and Route 29 - and "Charles Miller's field."  The Belmont Farm site was at the extreme western end of the Valley but what the objection to Charles Miller's field was is not know.  The Charles Miller farm was what is today Howell Farm, so it was as centrally located as Ely's Corner.

June 1889 - The land at Ely's Corner was surveyed.

Summer 1889 - Work on the new School house began.

Fall 1889 - Sometime in the fall of 1889, after the school year began, the school house was completed.

1894 - The rural school districts, including Pleasant Valley - District 1, became part of the Hopewell Township school district and the responsibility of the Hopewell Township School Board.

In December 1894 the Pleasant Valley School was visited and inspected by members of the Hopewell Township School Board and everything was found to be in order.

1917 - Proposals were raised by members of the Hopewell School Board to consider closing some or all of the rural schools.

February 7, 1917 - A committee of the Hopewell School Board reported that a suitable addition to the Pleasant Valley School could be built for approximately $3,000.

March 20, 1917 - The motion to build the addition to the Pleasant Valley School House was passed.  About two-thirds of the public who attended the meeting were from Pleasant Valley and they greatly supported the proposal.

July 1917 - The contract for the addition was awarded to Edward Jones, Jr., of Hopewell Borough.  The heating and plumbing contract went to Arthur N. Johnson of Hopewell Borough.

March-April 1918 - The ladies of the Pleasant Valley Community Circle held a bazaaar and fair at the school house that raised money to provide the extra things for the building which the board of education did not furnish.

1917 - Beginning in 1917 with the addition, the school now had two teachers instead of one.  One teacher was in charge as the principal.  One teacher taught grades 1-4 while the other taught grades 5-8.

1922 - Pleasant Valley School is noted as one of only two schools in Hopewell that are not overcrowded.

1923 - Arrangements were made with Hunterdon County to transport students from the Mount Range school district to Pleasant Valley using a horse drawn school bus.

1923 - The Pleasant Valley School had new coal fired steam heating plant installed by A.D. Blackwell of Trenton.

c1926 - The Pleasant Valley School received electricity and lights.

1933 - The School Board proposed closing Pleasant Valley School for one year as a cost saving measure and sending the students to school in Titusville.

1936 - Pleasant Valley School was closed by the Hopewell School Board.  The school house continued to be used as a community center.

May 2, 1938 - The school house was sold at public auction to Mr. and Mrs. Franklyn Wooden for $1,010.

The school house was converted into a home for the Wooden family.  The front part of the original school building was removed, the interior was reconfigured, a fireplace was added, and a front porch was built.  Wood from the original school house was used in constructing the buildings erected for the chicken and egg production business of the Wooden's. 

Photos of the building
Photos of students and teachers
List of PDF research reports on the school