EZRA AROUND TOWN: After all these months of learning about the history of Newtown, Ezra found himself curious to know more about the ORIGINAL houses of learning: the One-Room Schoolhouse. While there were upwards of 20 school districts in Newtown at one time, the Middle Gate schoolhouse remains the only one open to the public today. The One-Room Schoolhouse wasn’t always located here. It sat on the north slope of Route 25’s Tollgate Hill, almost directly across from the Botsford Post Office. The school district was originally called “Bear Hills” (which makes Ezra a little wary about visiting that location!); the name was later changed to Middle Gate after the completion of the Newtown-Bridgeport Turnpike (Route 25), in reference to the toll gate on that portion of the turnpike. The current building was built in 1850 for a total cost of $190. The district, however, was formed in 1783. With its wood stove in the center of the room, though still nippy in the winter, and backless benches around three of the four walls, the building looks the same today. Students sat facing the wall and made their way through graded readers, working largely on their own. Students didn’t move from grade to grade, but reader to reader. When the teacher wanted to speak to them as a group, she ordered an “about face” and everyone swung their legs over the bench to face inward. This maneuver was usually done with zeal—so much so that a student was once knocked unconscious! Classes ended here in 1922. In 1966, after buying the property for a housing development, Harry Gould of Gould Realty gifted it to the Newtown Historical Society with one condition—it had to be moved off Gould’s property. It was moved to the front lawn of the newly built Middle Gate School. In September of 2022 a Memorial Tree was planted in the schoolyard and dedicated to our First Official Town Historian, Dan Cruson. Being the namesake of our First Unofficial Town Historian, Ezra, of course, had to pay his respects. Keep an eye peeled for one of NHS’s periodic “Little Red School House” open houses to get a peek inside, hear more interesting stories, and play historical games on the lawn! (fb)

Leader, survivor, innovator, public servant – these words only scratch the surface when describing Eleanor Roosevelt. Considered by many the United States’ greatest First Lady, Roosevelt lived an extraordinary life. Join the Newtown Historical Society and speaker Mark Albertson, who will lead us on a journey through the life and times of Eleanor Roosevelt. Mark will discuss her childhood in New York and London, the White House years, her time with the United Nation’s General Assembly, and Roosevelt's continuing legacy. (fb)