Visit The Hornbine School Museum This Month

Carleigh with her grandmother and younger sister. Or (Carleigh Louise 6 ½, pictured here between her grandmother, Mary Louise Pacheco and her sister, Maible Jean Pacheco 4 ½ visited the Museum on July 28th.)

Francis Magan Jones looking out a Hornbine School window while the children play outside.

Posted Friday, August 16, 2024 12:00 am

The Hornbine School is a one room schoolhouse located in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. It is one of Rehoboth’s historic treasures. It was built around 1846-1847. The school was closed and sold approximately ninety years later in 1937. Interested Rehoboth residents raised money to buy and repair the building during the 325th Rehoboth Town Anniversary 56 years ago.

We will have the school open for the public to visit on Sunday, September 8th and Sunday, September 22nd from 2 – 4 pm. A visit to the Hornbine School Museum promises to be an inexpensive and pleasant way to discover some charming Rehoboth history and enjoy the day! Touch the actual teacher’s desk from the original Palmer River School. (There have been three Palmer River Schools!) Sit at desks used by students in past centuries. Try your hand at writing with a quill ink pen and/or a slate pencil. Take part in our scavenger hunt. Thumb through text books used in the 19th century. Examine actual photographs from the past which show children around one room schools in Rehoboth. Observe pictures that show Hornbine School during its restoration in 1968. View the school’s collapsed roof in the aftermath of a hurricane in the 1980’s.

Do you have a child that visited the school with their class in recent years? Bring them with you and have them show you around. We’d love to have students visit in their “Hornbine School Outfits”!

Carleigh Louise 6½, pictured between her grandmother, Mary Louise Pacheco and her sister, Maible Jean Pacheco 4½, visited the Museum on July 28th. When Carleigh was 2 years old, she met Frances Magan Jones. Frances, who attended the school in the 1920s & 1930s, enjoyed visiting the school and sharing her memories with visitors of all ages. Frances made a lasting impression on Carleigh who was disappointed to hear that we lost Frances at the age of 101 recently.

Visit our table at the REHOBOTH “HISTORY THROUGH THE AGES” TIME LINE EVENT ON REDWAY PLAIN on Saturday and Sunday, September 7th & 8th. There will be over 20 organizations participating.

The Hornbine One Room Schoolhouse Museum is located at 144 Hornbine Road in Rehoboth.