The storied history of the old schoolhouse

The old schoolhouse will soon be no more.

Like most other structures of local historic significance in Oceanside, the house currently standing at 2376 Washington Ave. is slated to be demolished. While essentially becoming a boarding house in recent years before being condemned by the Town of Hempstead, the house has had a rich history spanning over 170 years.

Originally built in 1838, according to the Nassau County Assessor’s Office, this structure has played a central role as the community’s first public school house, first religious school house/place of worship and community meeting place.

According to “The History of Oceanside” by Dr. Walter S. Boardman, the Washington Avenue house (“the old schoolhouse”) was originally constructed on the northwest corner of what became Christian Hook Road and School Street — the present-day northwest corner of Oceanside and Foxhurst Roads. It was the first official school house for School District 11 at Christian Hook, which also included the present-day neighborhoods of Atlantic Beach, Long Beach, Point Lookout, Island Park and Rockville Centre. The structure was built at the edge of the road and originally had only one room. Starting in 1860, the attic was also used for teaching.

During this time, the old schoolhouse was also used for religious instruction. While Oceanside’s Presbyterian Church was not built until the 1870s, the church’s presence in the community dates to 1844, when Maria Pine established a Presbyterian Church School in Christian Hook. Rev. Marcus Burr and Ms. Pine held adult classes in the old schoolhouse until a church was built slightly further south along Oceanside Road. In addition, since the structure was built large enough to hold many people, it was undoubtedly used as a community meeting place for residents to debate important issues of their day.

After dutifully serving the community’s needs for 40 years, the old schoolhouse became antiquated. By 1880, overcrowding became too much of a problem for this structure. In addition to needing a larger structure, a larger location was also sought out. The land now utilized as the Schoolhouse Green was acquired and the new structure was built.

The old schoolhouse was eventually moved to its current and final location where it has remained in relative obscurity. While the structure has had several additions built onto it, the core of the building is composed of the old schoolhouse. In recent years, the old schoolhouse has been the victim of neglect and fallen into a state of disrepair. Without any historic marker or official designation, the house’s rich history has been known only to local history enthusiasts.

But soon, the old schoolhouse will be no more.

The fate of the old schoolhouse is bleak. Similar to other nearby properties, the old schoolhouse was recently been purchased by South Nassau Communities Hospital; the plan is to raze the old schoolhouse to add more parking spaces for SNCH. This situation is uncannily similar to fate of the community’s third schoolhouse, the old “Terrell Hall.” Terrell Hall served as the School District’s official schoolhouse from 1895 to 1911, after which it was moved to Davison Avenue across from where the Oceanside Library now stands. This building became a meeting site for social, political, and religious organizations, before also suffering from neglect. The Town of Hempstead eventually purchased the property, tore down Terrell Hall in 1972, and turned it into parking spaces.

While some may doubt whether this property is, in fact, the old schoolhouse, the circumstantial evidence is convincing. It is unclear whether the SNCH is aware of historical significance of its newest property. As SNCH prides itself on strong community ties, hopefully it will work with local historical groups in any attempt to preserve parts of the structure.

Unfortunately, time is running out for our old schoolhouse. Before long, this precious piece of our community’s history will be no more.

Seth J. Blau is a volunteer with the Oceanside Education Foundation (OEF), a non-profit organization with goals of helping students of the Oceanside School District obtain a sense of local history by discovering, preserving and displaying the history of our community. Anyone who wishes to share stories, memories and experiences involving life in Oceanside is welcome to contact OEF at 145 Merle Ave., Oceanside, NY or e-mail at oef@schoolhousegreen.org.