Schools
THE OLD BROWN'S MILL ONE-ROOM SCHOOL
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In 1789, a one-room, log schoolhouse, was constructed southeast of the limestone schoolhouse to accommodate the children’s educational needs, in the Brown’s Mill area. Parents of the children taught, paid the salaries of the teachers. In 1804, another building was constructed to replace the log schoolhouse.
In 1834, the Pennsylvania Free School Act was enacted; the law did not provide for financing school buildings. In 1836, 51 citizens of the Brown's Mill community raised sufficient funds to construct this larger, one-room, limestone schoolhouse.
For 85 years this stone structure served as an educational institution and community center for the Brown's Mill area, until it closed in 1921. Evening singing schools, debates, and spelling bees were held during each school year and one report tells of as many as a hundred sleighs bringing people on a winter night, to take part in a social event at the school.
The Pennsylvania Museum and Historical Commission restored and preserved the Brown’s Mill School to serve as a memorial to the one-room schools of the country. The Franklin County Historical Society now owns the schoolhouse. Brown’s Mill School is located at the intersection of Brown’s Mill Road and Angle Road, Antrim Township, Franklin County, PA.
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BROWN'S MILL GRAVEYARD
The Brown's Mill Graveyard contains the graves of many early settlers. As it is recognized as an historic cemetery and the final resting place of 17 Revolutionary War veterans, a memorial was erected in 1935 by the Franklin County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Among the burial sites is the grave of Major General James Potter, one of three generals from Pennsylvania to be accorded this rank in the War for Independence. James Potter's memory was perpetuated by the Commonwealth when Potter County was created on March 26, 1804. James McLene, a member of the Continental Congress and political leader in state government, during the Revolution and for a decade following the war, is also buried in the graveyard.