Building date: 1833 - demolished August 1997
Original use: Schoolhouse
Corner structures:
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Map views courtesy Google Maps. Address is Google Earth confirmed; 43°07'32.57"N 76°48'40.64"W. Current owner of record, Madeira Associates, Syracuse as of the 2019 Tax Roll.
Town of Savannah and Wayne County Maps
The Cobb School House in the Cobb Joint School District #1 was at the northwest corner of Clyde-Hunts Corners Road and Hadden/Butler Roads in the town of Savannah 1970s after it became a private residence. It was still there in the 1970s but is now gone [as of August 1997]. It served Joint School District No. 1, which was shared between Galen and Savannah. It was closed in 1940. Richard Palmer blog.
Editor's Note 190628: Google Maps street and satellite views suggest that the structure no longer exists based on the map location provided by the Roudabush Survey. On-site visit by Richard Palmer has confirmed that the structure no longer exists (Email 03JUL2019). It appears Cobb schoolhouse was at 12079 Clyde Hunts Corners Rd. (Tax ID 75113-00-923894) just in the Town of Savannah with the west border of the 0.3 acre property on the town line, 664 feet from Hadden/Butler Rds. The tax records note that a building of no description was removed from that property in August 1997. This property and the adjoining 436 acre tract (on both sides of Clyde Hunts Corners Rd with an address of 3232 Galen Rd Tax ID 75113-00-7981617,) in the Town of Galen are owned by Madeira Associates, Syracuse. Tax records list both properties as private hunting/fishing. Based on the current property map, this evidence seems to concur with the 1874 map.
Cobb School, in Three Towns, is 100 Years Old, Clyde Herald, March 8, 1933
Cobb School, District No. 1, towns of Savannah, Galen and Butler, was built in 1833 at a cost of $1890 on land donated for school purposes by J.M. Cobb. This makes the Cobb School antedate the District No. 9 School of Rose. Cobb School has been in continuous operation ever since its establishment.
Among those present at the School Meeting of 1833 was Mr. Samuel S. Briggs, who had recently purchased the farms now known as the Hunt Farm. During the first 50 years either he or at least one of his descendants was present at every school meeting, generally as a member of the School Board. Until 1863, this District had three trustees, one being chosen from each of the three towns from which the district was formed. since then only one trustee has represented the district.
It is believed that there are few, if any, school districts which have a complete record of all meetings held in the district. This district has the clerk's book used in 1833 and in it are the minutes of every annual and special school meeting from that time to date. It will be used again next May to record the minutes of the 101st Annual School Meeting since this building was erected.
Cobblestones Hauled by Oxen
The Cobb School was a 22' x 28' foot building built of water glazed cobblestones hauled by ox-carts from the shores of Lake Ontario. The cobblestones were set in mortar by masons whose workmanship apparently cannot be duplicated today. During the 100 years of existence, very little repair work has been required.
The long board seats were used in the school until 1904, when they were taken out to make room for 16 modern single seats. A new floor was laid at this time. During the past four years, an eight foot extension has been built on the south side of the building for a cloak room and wood house. Windows have been placed in the east side as recommended by the State Department of Education. Ten more new seats have been added to take care of the increased enrollment.
It is to be noted that the modernization of the Cobb School has taken place during the trusteeship of William Burke. Mr. Burke was trustee from 1093 to 1910 when he resigned to become road commissioner of the Town of Galen. It was at this time that new desks were installed. Mr. Burke was again elected trustee in 1926 and has served in that capacity to date. During this last incumbency, the building and equipment have been brought up-to-date. Due to Mr. Burke's wise and efficient management and the personal interest he has taken in the betterment of local conditions, all of this modernization has been accomplished without increasing the tax rate in the District.
Although the assessed valuation of the district has been decreased almost $10,000 during the past ten years, the school tax rate for 1932-33 was the lowest for that period.
The writer knows of no other century-old district school in which wood is the only fuel that has ever been used, thereby making possible the retention of a considerable amount of school monies in the district.
A comparison of the school records of the 1830s with those of the 1930s is interesting. In 1836, the district received $42 in public money. It paid a male teacher $28 for a 16-week term during the winter months and $16 was paid for a lady teacher for a 12-week summer term. Wood for the fuel and board and lodging was furnished by the parents of children attending school.
In 1932, under State Law which requires school districts to expend $1,500 in order to obtain the maximum amount of public money, the Cobb School received $999 from the State and raised $603 by direct taxation of property in the District. Of this amount, $950 is paid for teaching 38 weeks and the remainder expended for transportation of High School pupils, building new fence, book, maps, fuel, and the many incidentals required to properly carry on in a modern school.
In the 1830s, school attendance was not compulsory. Boys and girls attended school when they could be spared from farm work. Attendance was very irregular.
26 Pupils Now
At present, there are 26 pupils attending this school, the largest number attending a district school in the town of Savannah. Of these, the following eleven have maintained perfect attendance so far this year:
Gracy Bellinger, Hilda Bornheimer, Mary Kane, Marjorie Secore, Junior Buckler, Leland Covill, Wesley Kane, Fred Secore, James Hall, Richard Hall, Robert Hall.
The school has 99 percent attendance.
In the 1830s, many teachers had not attended school more than three or four years. Today, the minimum requirements for a teacher's certificate call for thirteen years of school attendance. The present teacher, Ethel C. Beecher, is a graduate of Rochester University.
This article would not be complete without mention of the credit due the District Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Frank L. Miller, for is tireless efforts to make the schools in this section of Wayne County models of efficiency in the training of our rural children. His thorough comprehension of all matters relating to rural school problems and his whole-hearted cooperation with both trustees and teachers have been of inestimable value, not only to this district but to all schools in the southeastern section of Wayne County. Richard Palmer blog.
Cobb's Corners Joint District Schoolhouse #1 (Galen, Savannah) history sheet. From the personal research of cobblestone historian Karen Crandall.
Wayne Historians Organization (WHO), Historic Sites Inventory Cobblestone house former schoolhouse
- "Cobblestone Masonry", 1966, Carl Schmidt: Name reference, Schoolhouse
- Page 159
 Cobb school house_Galen.jpg ¹ |  1874 map of Wayne county.jpg² Schoolhouse at circled location. |  Gal_5_1.jpg |  Gal_5_2.jpg |
 Gal_5_3.jpg |  Gal_5_4.jpg | Gal_5_1.jpg ³ |
¹ Drawing by Judy (Palermo) Shumway, courtesy Wayne County Historian's office.
² 1874 Map segment of Wayne county courtesy Richard Palmer.
³ Photography courtesy Martin and Sheila Wolfish.
