About Us
Rochelle School & Community
Rochelle School was first built in 1886 by local residents of "Old Rochelle". It was a rather crude one room schoolhouse with two doors on either end and two windows in between. Handmade benches without backs were fashioned during the construction of the small school. The young students would sit on the benches lining the walls reading from their McGuffey Readers or working in their Spellers and when it was time to recite they moved to the middle of the room. The first term of school lasted a short three months.
After being moved twice and replaced in 1899 the little Rochelle School burned down in 1903 while serving as the home of a local couple. The new school of 1899 was moved to "New Rochelle" in 1903 and it was replaced in 1910. This new two story structure housed eight classrooms and one office. There was no indoor plumbing or electircity. Thanks to the "Mother's Club" of 1911 coal lamps were placed in the dark hallways to prevent injury and inappropriate "spooning" by the students. The school even had a bell tower all the way from Chicago. This very same bell is used to call the elementary children from recess today. (Read more...)
