Pocopson School

Lenape/Pocopson School

The Lenape School, also called Pocopson School, was constructed on ground given by John Huey from his farm, now Brandywine Hills.  Lenape School was built in what is now Route 52 to serve the children in the southeastern section of the township. The date given for construction of this building is 1882, but there are school attendance records for “Pocopson School” as early as 1865.

Early Schools

 Schooling was an important issue from the earliest days of Pennsylvania.  William Penn decreed in 1682 that the Governor and Council “shall erect and order all public schools and encourage and regard the authors of useful sciences and laudable inventions.”  Churches probably served as the first schoolhouses, with the Bible (more often than not the only available book) serving as the main textbook, and the minister taking on the role of teacher.

Pocopson Township Schools and Education History, 1850 through 1923

The Locust Grove School documented history from December 1855 through 1923 overlaps two major periods in Pennsylvania education history: The Rise of the Common School System, 1818-1867[1] and The Long Progressive Era, 1867-1930. [2] School construction, reform, and oversight characterized the 1840s and 1850s; this period benefited from standardization in general, including teacher traini

Pocopson School Board Members & Teachers

The Pocopson Township School Board managed three one-room schoolhouses from the time of the Township formation, 1850, until 1923 when the schoolhouses were closed, and residents transferred to the newly established Unionville Vocational Joint Consolidated School. The school board continued to serve the residents after the closure of the local schools. One resident of Pocopson, Robert W. Caldwell served three terms on the Pocopson School Board. He lived very near the Locust Grove Schoolhouse and sent his eight children to the School.