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Dudley Corner School House
The history of schooling at Dudley’s Corner goes back to the first settlers who established farms and businesses on the North and East side of the Kennebec in the 1790’s. Because this crossroads was central to the farming community, school began to be held at several different neighborhood farmhouses until the First school building was built on this site, in 1804. At that time this section was part of Canaan. In 1823, Milburn was set off from Canaan and Dudley’s Corner was part of that exchange. Townspeople decided to replace the original school in 1835 and $300 was appropriated for the purpose. After another year, the building now standing here was finished in 1836 at a final cost of $466.30. This fine new schoolhouse soon became the social, religious and political center of Milburn as well.
There were no strong feelings regarding separation of Church and State in those days. The religious denomination that came with the first of the settlers was called the Christian church and the new school building proved to be the perfect place to centralize the scattered services being held in private homes. For the same reason of location within the community, most town meetings, all national elections, and innumerable social functions were held here through the 1850,s until a larger “town hall” building was finished in the now rapidly growing “village”.
It may be a bit hard to visualize now, but Dudley’s Corner was the geographical center and the center of population in Milburn and later the north side of Skowhegan. The number of people living on farms was much higher that today and travail by horse and buggy was slower than we are accustomed to. The outlying farm families appreciated every travail mile saved by a central location. The old schoolhouse remained in heavy use as a social center for the rest of the 19th Century and school classes were held until 1921.
In 1932, the Eunice Farnsworth Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, commemorating the many years of exceptional service, placed a bronze plaque on the building. In later years of the 20th Century the schoolhouse has been used by various social organizations, most recently by the Boy Scouts of America!
In 1932, the Eunice Farnsworth Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, commemorating the many years of exceptional service, placed a bronze plaque on the building. In later years of the 20th Century the schoolhouse has been used by various social organizations, most recently by the Boy Scouts of America!