The Union School is an historic, American building that is located at 516-518

Bethlehem Pike Bethlehem Pike is a historic long road in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that connects Philadelphia and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It began as a Native American path called the Minsi Trail which developed into a colonial highway called the King ...

in the Fort Washington section of Whitemarsh Township,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The Union School has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1980.

History and architectural features

Built in 1773, the Union School was one of the earliest public schools in

, and the first that did not discriminate based on social position or religious preference. The building is sometimes referred to as the "cradle of free education." As part of his will, local Quaker businessman Samuel Morris stipulated that a sum of money from his estate be set for the building of a school and a teacher's salary. The school was to provide free education for all within a one-and-a-half-mile radius of Hope Lodge, his country mansion. After Morris died in 1770, his brother Joshua had the school built. The original section was built in 1773 and is a two-and-one-half-story building that measures twenty-three feet wide by forty-eight feet long. The school and attached schoolmaster's house were built using fieldstone portions that were covered in painted stucco. ''Note:'' This includes In 1792, the Union School was incorporated as the Union School in Whitemarsh. The school was in continuous use from 1773 until 1936, except for a brief period in 1873 when it served as a

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...

. The trust fund established by Samuel Morris remains in existence today, supporting education in the townships of Whitpain, Whitemarsh and Upper Dublin in

. The Union School has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today, the Union School building is a privately owned residence. The museum of the Fort Washington Historical Society in the Clifton House contains a replica of the school room.

History and architectural features

References

See also