Back to school: The history of Lock Haven’s Robb Elementary
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I love autumn. It's my favorite time of year. The leaves are turning colors, things get cooler and I'm always having a good time.
My mother was a teacher, so I grew up around the school system. Some people think of autumn as an ending, but with everyone going back to school, it's always felt more like new beginnings to me. New stories, new adventures ahead. I'll always feel that way.
My son is going back to school now. He graduated from Robb Elementary last year, and he had asked me to provide some of his teachers with historic information on the school. Since I was looking into it anyway, I'm smart enough to use it for a column.
Robb Elementary is the oldest school still operating in Lock Haven, built in 1893. That property is one of the oldest and most historic in the city; it began as the site of the courthouse. When Clinton County was founded in 1839, Jerry Church had the courthouse built on that property, with his home next door. He wrote that he wanted to be able to conveniently walk next door and see people anytime he liked. (You may think I am kidding there, but I am not.)
The bell in front of Robb Elementary is from the courthouse, and has been on that property since 1840. It was created by Philadelphia bell maker John Wilbanks, who was involved with the Liberty Bell.
That courthouse was built by John Moorhead of Lock Haven, and I get the idea that he sort of phoned it in. Within 20 years, it was in bad repair and outdated, and the new and current courthouse was built in 1867. This left the old courthouse unoccupied, so it was turned into the First Ward Grammar School.
They managed to get another 26 years out of it as a school. At that point, the building was truly unusable, so they tore it down and built another school in 1893.
This one had eight rooms, and was brand new by 1893 standards. They named it after John A. Robb, the superintendent of schools. Robb is buried in Dunnstown Cemetery. I just looked him up, and I feel that we should name a lot more stuff after this guy. He'd been a teacher in the grammar school that was torn down. He fought in the Civil War, was wounded and met Abraham Lincoln while he was in the hospital. He served on city council for six years, was secretary of the Board of Health and, for 40 years, was an official weather observer with the United States government. This guy was pretty amazing, and looking at his obituary, it's not surprising that we named a school after him.
Robb passed away on Oct. 21, 1921, at age 78. He was buried in Dunnstown Cemetery. He was the school superintendent up until his death.
By the middle of the last century, Robb Elementary became unsuitable. It was still in good condition, but the school was too small for the growing classes of children. There was no point in tearing it down, but they chose to build an addition to the smaller, eight-room schoolhouse. This was completed in 1959, making it pretty much the Robb Elementary School that we know today.
And that more or less brings us up to date with the Robb Elementary School. My son had a good few years there; he took some pride in going to the school. And now, he and his teachers have the historic information and, thanks to this column, so do you. Hope he didn't forget his lunch on the way out the door.
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Lou Bernard is a Lock Haven resident with a keen interest in the history of this area and may be reached at loulhpa@gmail.com or 570-660-4463.