Annie Delano-Hitch helped fund the construction of this building with the hopes it would serve her community for years to come. The cornerstone indicates construction commenced in 1897.
By Alan Crawford
Sadly, this week, we watched a building demolished which held so many memories for so many of our Town residents, the old Balmville School. Research of the deeds for this property can be traced back to William Bloomer, one of the first settlers and major land owners in Balmville in his time. Upon his death in 1824, he bequeathed half his estate to be split between his sons, John, Jacob, and Thomas, and the other half to be split between his daughters, Mary, Abagail, Rachel, and Bethiah. After a handful of sales, the property the future Balmville School would be located on became Jacob’s.
When Jacob Bloomer’s estate was settled, on November 3, 1851, a court order mandated the property belonging to his estate be sold at auction. On March 3, 1852, Frederick J. Betts was the highest bidder and he became the new owner.
The following month, Mr. Betts sold the property to Joseph D. Wiles. When Mr. Wiles passed in 1867, the ownership was transferred to his widow, Elizabeth. Upon her death in 1888, she left a fifth of her estate to the children of her two daughters, Mary and Eliza, and a fifth to each of her three grandchildren. Property was sold between these family members until Elizabeth’s son, Charles, came to be the sole owner in 1889.
Charles sold this parcel, where the future school would be built, to Warren Delano on February 26, 1889.
The Newburgh School System was established in 1852, ten years before “common” or public schools became a reality in New York State. The original, or First District School, was a one story brick building about a mile north of the Balmville Tree. With the population rapidly expanding near the end of the century in our Town, it could no longer accommodate the growing student enrollment and the decision was made to explore the options of building a new school.
As many of you know, the Delanos were a major player in our community and also in the national arena. In 1896, Warren Delano donated property to the district. So, on November 24, 1896, for the sum of one dollar, Warren Delano sold this property to Edward W. Dubois, the trustee for the First District School of Newburgh. The deed states a dollar amount, but the property was donated for the purpose of building a new, larger school.
Warren’s daughter, Annie Delano-Hitch, helped fund the construction of this building with the hopes it would serve her community for years to come. The cornerstone indicates construction commenced in 1897. She was an ardent supporter of this school over the years. The original building was one and a half stories of brick and clapboard. Later, Annie’s husband, Frederic Hitch, donated funds for the second story addition.
As the population of our community increased, five acres were purchased across Fostertown Road for a playground in 1939. The grounds to the north of the school building were used as a garden for students. Continuing to grow, a second addition was constructed in 1948, to house the Kindergarten class. In 1950, a second story was added to the addition for the sixth grade students. In a few short years, by 1953, there were more students than classrooms and the decision that was made was to build a new school on what was the playground. On September 7, 1954, the present Balmville School opened to classes. The new school included Kindergarten through third grade, while the others remained in the older building, though using some of the facilities in the new school.
Some classes continued to be conducted in the old school until the mid-1970’s. When these ended, the use of the old school was relegated to administrative purposes. In the 1980’s, the laughter and voices which had filled the classrooms and halls for eight decades fell silent, and the building was empty, except, perhaps, for the lingering spirits of the students who so loved it.
There is no bringing this back, but I hope, and believe, many of you have stories and photos of their years attending classes in this school which can be shared and used to celebrate a building which was an architectural beauty, and a tribute to those people in our community who had a vision and commitment, donating land to improve the educational opportunities for the youth of our Town. I’ve already been blessed with some photos of the early days and the students who walked the halls and grounds which can be shared. Thanks, Linda Lou for the memories and photos. And, thanks to Mickey for his devotion to perpetuate the soul of this landmark.