By: David Deschesne

Fort Fairfield Journal October 24, 2007, p. 5

Fort Fairfield Elementary School students were in school on October 11, but not in their normal setting. A tour of the Frontier Heritage Historical Society’s (FHHS) grounds placed these children inside one of the oldest still-standing one-room school houses in northern Maine.

Jim Everett, from the FHHS, gave a brief history of the school house to a group of nearly 30 fourth grade students.
“We had twenty-six of these school houses in Fort Fairfield at one time,” Everett said. “Since there were no school busses when these were built, they were positioned such that there was one within two miles of most of the houses in Fort Fairfield so kids could walk to school.”

The McIntosh School house, which has been moved to the FHHS’ museum site with the CP station, dining car and train display at Heritage Lane, Fort Fairfield, was built in 1848. It is now placed on a foundation and has been completely refurbished and repainted to restore it to as close to its original condition as possible.

The schools were heated solely with wood heat. “One of the students who lived nearby would have to come early in the morning to light the fire in the stove, go home and have his breakfast, then come back to school. It would be all warmed up for class by the time everyone arrived,” Everett explained. “There were some years they had to close schools for a month or so because there was either no wood for heat or it was too cold outside to keep the building warm.”

The school house still has its original slate blackboards and hardwood flooring. Mid-20th century school desks were recently refurbished by the High School shop class students and placed on display there, as well.

Fort Fairfield town manager, Dan Foster also gave an interactive presentation on the functioning of local government. Using volunteers from the student audience, Mr. Foster showed how conflicts can arise, be brought to the town council and hopefully resolved.

“We don’t live in a perfect world,” said Foster. “But we listen to what everyone’s needs are and try to make decisions that everyone can agree to and live with.” He described his role as town manger as working “for the citizens, through their elected town council.”

He also described the various departments within the town, such as Police Department, Fire Department, Highway, Recreation and the Library.

“We use your parents’ money that they pay in taxes, the council votes on how to spend it and it is my job to see to it that it is spent appropriately, and that we get what we pay for.”

Children also toured the partially-refurbished CP station, which houses a mock-up of the interior of a train engineer’s control room, and features many original pieces of equipment used by office staff of bygone days, such as telegraph keys, manual typewriters and mechanical adding machines.

Everett provided the group of youngsters with a ride on the museum’s maintenance car, which has been rigged with a cart for up to fifteen people.

Before disembarking, students also toured the railroad dining car, which was an original kitchen/service car with the former Bangor and Aroostook Railroad.

The Frontier Heritage Historical Society was organized in 1974 and is currently charged with the maintenance and management of the McIntosh school house, CP station/museum, dining car, train and engine display, the Blockhouse on Main Street and Friends Church - one of the oldest still-standing churches in northern Maine. The society has plans to erect a fully-functional diesel powered sawmill on the site next year and has a goal of ultimately turning the area into a tourist destination.

For more information, go to their web page at: www.mainemediaresources.com/fhhs.htm