Exhibits – 2005
Bright Shiny Faces: A Retrospective Look at Portsmouth Schools of Old
 Portsmouth Elementary students’ Primary Source Research Projects. See interviews under “Portsmouth Memories” |
 Richard Schloshy acted as Schoolmaster of the one-room schoolhouse for the exhibit opening |
 Exhibit Opening May 22, 2005 |
 Janet Schloshy (seated) demonstrated how to make whirly-gigs |
The Curator's Committee of the Portsmouth Historical Society is focusing on schools for its May exhibit, “Bright Shiny Faces: A Retrospective Look at Portsmouth Schools of Old”. The committee has scoured our collection for photographs and artifacts from old time Portsmouth schools.
We have uncovered photographs of Chase School on West Main Road, Vaucluse School on Braman’s Lane, Gibbs School on Union Street, Bristol Ferry School and the original Joseph Coggeshall School as it looked in the 1920’s. The Historical Society Museum has scrapbooks of materials from Coggeshall School during the 1960’s.
The nation's oldest school, Southermost School, has been restored and is one of the treasures at the Portsmouth Historical Society site at the corner of East Main Road and Union Street. Restoration was funded through a grant from the Champlin Foundations. Documentation on the school show it was built in 1725 in the vicinity of the present day 102 Union Street. In 1800 the school was moved down the street to the corner of West Main Road and Union Street. Around the time of the Civil War, the school was no longer used and was moved to what became the Hall property on Union Street. The Hall family gave the school to the Portsmouth Historical Society in 1952 Southermost Schoolhouse was one of the schools built to serve the town's eight school districts. Portsmouth is listed in a 1939 Providence Journal article as still having five one room schools functioning in 1939. Today the Prudence Island School is still one of our "one room schools".
The “Newtown School Collection,” a gift of Marie Thurston, will be one of the main displays in the exhibit. This collection of materials focuses on the career of Isabella Frances Fish who taught at the Newtown School. Miss Fish retired in 1921 after 35 years of teaching. The collection includes letters from the superintendent of schools, retirement papers, photographs of Miss Fish and photos of students at Newtown School. The most intriguing documents are her records of school attendance which include pupils’ names, parents’ names, attendance, and even the visitors who came to the school. We have involved the present day Portsmouth School students in our study. Their contributions will be on display for the 2005 museum season. The interviews can also be found on the “Portsmouth Memories” page.