Building date: 1845, demolished 1913
Original use: Schoolhouse
Corner structures:
Mortar application and content:
Types and uses of stones:
Types and choice of windows:
Structures with similar masonry details:
Builders who worked on building: Samuel Fellows, Iran French, William Kellogg, William Smith, George Gaylord, Simeon Pomroy and Ransom Sage.
Unique features:
Map views courtesy Google Maps. Location is Google Earth confirmed; 42°55'44.99"N 77°28'05.79"W.
Town of East Bloomfield and Ontario County Maps
Dibble Cobblestone School [No. 15, northeast] corner of Bennett Road and County Road 39, [existed from 1845 to 1913. A newer frame schoolhouse built on the same site] was closed in 1946 and subsequently demolished [sold as a residence]. It is believed to have been the only cobblestone building in the town of East Bloomfield. Richard Palmer blog.
Editor's Note: The large The First Congregational Church (1837), 10 South Ave., East Bloomfield, has a substantial cobblestone foundation for the basement portion of the church which predates the Dibble Cobblestone School by 8 years.
Excerpted from "Bloomfield Schools Revisited: A History of Education in East Bloomfield 1789-1989". Courtesy Karen Crandall.
DISTRICT #2
District School #2, later #15, was located at the corner of County Road 39 and Bennett Road. The "Old Stone Schoolhouse" as it was known, was erected in 1845 at a cost of $400, the site having been purchased from George L. Dibble for $60. For 13 or 14 years previous to the erection of the cobblestone school house, a wooden building built for Israel Reed, located nearby, was used. This building had been moved from a site near Dibble's saw mill, which was in the area of County Road 39, formerly Swamp Road, and Boughton Road. In 1940, the East Bloomfield highway crew unearthed remnants of an old fireplace of bricks and the site of an old log building near the site of Dibble's Mill while building a new bridge.
The stone school house, according to old records, was built by Samuel Fellows, Iran French, William Kellogg, William Smith, George Gaylord, Simeon Pomroy and Ransom Sage. This school was used for 68 years.
In 1913 a contract was let to Forsyth & Dibble for a new and modern school building at a cost not to exceed $2,000. It was built of wood, 29' by 31', with modern equipment approved by the State Education Department. This school had the largest attendance of any of the district schools in the township, and the assessed valuation of the property was the highest of any district in the town. After the districts centralized, the building was sold and was converted into a home. It is now owned by Lester W. Bennett and Sons.
Dibble School Closing Bring End To Annual Session After 58 Years, Democrat and Chronicle, 7/21/1940. Courtesy Rochester Public Library.
East Bloomfield - Closing of the doors of the little school in District 2, East Bloomfield, known better as "the Dibble School." brings to an end the annual school meetings which for the past 58 years have been attended almost consecutively by Charles W. Norton, retired farmer.
While Mr. Norton does not disclose his age, he was a voter when he married Miss Frances Mason Dibble in 1882 and moved to one of the Horace Dibble farms. His home previous to that time was in the eastern part of the town.
He recalls one meeting he missed. According to his reminiscences, two factions were to be out in full force for the school election. Norton felt he was getting to the session in good time, but on arrival found that the meeting was over. Some smart person in the opposing group had conceived the idea of having the meeting early and thus beating the other side. The plan worked well until the school commissioner got wind of the tale and then the election was thrown out by the authorities. A second election was held, with the same time for all voters in the district.
A cobblestone building housed the pupils for many years, lending charm to the house of learning. In 1913 it was replaced by the wooden structure that soon will go into the discard. At the final meeting attended by Norton, it was voted by the district to close the rural school and have the pupils transported by bus to the new $335,000 Bloomfield Central School, which will be opened for use this fall in the village.
 Dibble School House Map Location.jpg ¹ Schoolhouse location 1859 circled. |  Dibble school, East Bloomfield.jpg ² |  Dibble School_Bicentennial Booklet.jpg ³ |
¹ Map insert courtesy Library of Congress, 1859 map of Ontario County.
² Image courtesy Ontario County Historical Society.
³ Image courtesy Karen Crandall.
