Bedford School House (Bedford Village Historic District)

The Bedford School House is a one-room stone building located on Bedford’s historic Village Green. It served as Bedford’s village school from its construction in 1829 until 1912 when a newer, larger two-room schoolhouse was built on Court Road. As many as thirty and as few as three students, ages six to fourteen, attended classes during the eighty-plus years the Bedford School House was in operation. Students walked to the school, which was also referred to as the "Stone Jug." From 1913 to 1969 the building housed the Bedford Museum, which was moved to the second floor of the renovated 1787 Bedford Court House in 1970. The School House was then restored to its original use as a 19th century one-room school. It is a vibrant part of the Bedford Historical Society’s educational program, open to the public by appointment. The Bedford School House is included in the Bedford Village Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

In 1826, the residents of Bedford’s School District Number #2 voted to build a one-room school house for the education of local children. For its size, they proposed a twenty-six-foot-long by sixteen-foot-wide building with an eight-foot ceiling. It took another three years to finalize the site of the new school house, ultimately to be located to the “south of the Court House...and directly opposite the line between Benjamin Isaac’s land and Aaron Reed’s barn.” (BHS, p.32) The final size of the one-room building was reduced to twenty-by-eighteen feet, but still with eight-foot ceilings. A small belfry was also included. To cover most of the cost of construction, $250 was raised by tax. John Jay, a local Bedford resident, who had served as president of the Second Continental Congress, as second governor of New York State, and as first Chief Justice of the United States, also contributed $50 towards the cause prior to his passing in March of 1829. 

As many as thirty and as few as three students from ages six to fourteen attended school in the original one-room Bedford School House. Everyone walked to school and attended when they were not needed at home for planting or harvesting. By 1912, Bedford’s population had begun to outgrow the small structure, and its location on what had become a main thoroughfare was no longer suitable. A two-room school house was built on Court Road, near where the present Bedford Village Elementary School is today.

From 1913 to 1969 the Bedford School House building was home to the Bedford Museum. In 1970, the Bedford Museum was moved to the second floor of the nearby 1787 Bedford Court House. The Bedford School House was then restored to its original use as a 19th century one-room school. From 2004 to 2006, the building underwent extensive restoration to stabilize the east wall and return the interior to its original stucco-on-stone finish. Interpretive panels were installed to educate visitors on the history of common schools in New York and the “Stone Jug,” as the building was formerly called. The Bedford School House is a vibrant part of the Bedford Historical Society’s educational program and is open to the public by appointment. The Bedford School House is included in the Bedford Village Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Information and photos for this entry were contributed by the Bedford Historical Society. Special thanks to Lynn Ryan, Executive Director.

1. Bedford Historical Society. Walking Tour of Historic Bedford Village. Bedford, NY. 
2. Bedford Historical Society website. https://www.bedfordhistoricalsociety.org/
3. “Bedford Village Historic District #73001285.” National Register of Historic Places. United States Department of the Interior/National Park Service. 1973. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75322953 
4. Lindefield Bianco, Shirley and Stockbridge, John. Images of America: Bedford. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. 2003.
5. Williams, Gray. Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County. Westchester County Historical Society. 2003.
6. Wood, James. A.M. The History of the Town of Bedford to 1917. Reprinted from the History of Westchester County, New York, 1925.