By Danny McCarthy
The Long Island Traveler-Mattituck Watchman date June 6, 1946 had an article titled Early Days of Nineteenth Century Saw Start of Peconic School by H. Maude Terry. At the closing of this article, Miss Terry wrote: “After having been a Part of Peconic school for nearly forty years as both pupil and teacher, the preparation of this little article has been most enjoyable task.”
This article is online from the Suffolk Historic Newspapers website. Maybe you too will see that there is no definite date of the first Peconic School in the article by Miss Terry.
Here ‘s the link:
http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn84031433/1946-06-06/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=06%2F06%2F1946&index=0&date2=06%2F06%2F1946&words=Peconic+School&to_year2=1946&searchType=advanced&sequence=0&from_year2=1946&proxdistance=&page=1&county=Suffolk&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=%22Peconic+School%22&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&SearchType2=phrase
SPLIA {Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities} Peconic Volume has discussion about the Peconic Lane Primary School.:
“PRESENT OWNER: Southold Union Free School Distr. {District} Oaklawn Avenue, Southold School …
… prefabricated building in rear large lawn, playground, fields
The school stands on Peconic Lane, which is the main road of the Hamlet of Peconic …
OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES OF BUSINESS AND SITE (including interior features if known)
Low 1-story brick school building with slate roof and cupola. Center entrance with round-topped transom and scrolled voussoirs under pediment which is supported on paired round free-standing columns. Flanking hip roof bays each have banks of 5 small-paned double-hung windows. …brick quoins at corners. A roof balustrade extends across three center bays.
HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL IMPORTANCE:
This handsome school building is well preserved and contributes to the ambience of historic Peconic.
Wikipedia definitions:
“In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member. Transom or transom window is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece.”
“A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the centre stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch.”
“A pediment is an architectural element found particularly in classical, neoclassical and baroque architecture, and its derivatives, consisting of a gable, usually of a triangular shape, placed above the horizontal structure of the entablature, typically supported by columns.”
“Quoins are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. They exist in some cases to provide actual strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble and in other cases to make a feature of a corner, giving an impression of permanence and strength, and reinforcing the onlooker's sense of a structure's presence. Stone quoins are used on stone or brick buildings.”
SPLIA PE 31 Also Includes …
The Suffolk Times dated April 2, 1987 included the usual entry of a Let’s Look Back column:
“April 1, 1937
“New School Building Voted in: At a special meeting of the Peconic School District, held Monday evening, it was voted to appropriate the sum of $60,000 for a new brick school building. The new building will present the present two wooden buildings and will be erected on the same site, additional land having been purchased some time ago.
Plans for the new building, which will house the students from the first to the sixth grades, are being prepared by architect William LaFon of Southampton. The design of the new building will include an auditorium which can be converted into classrooms if necessary.”
In Checking the Suffolk Historic Newspapers Website...
After entering keywords Peconic School with the Search section within the Suffolk Historic Newspapers website, I came across 507 matches. What I did for this post about the Peconic School is refer to a small handful of the clippings I came across. Here goes …
Add-tos
I came across numerous listings in many Long Island Traveler-Watchman issues carrying Bus Schedule{s} For Peconic School.
Many Peconic School HONOR ROLL{S} were in particular Long Island Traveler-Watchman{s}. The classes found entered included GRADE ONE, GRADE TWO, GRADE THREE, GRADE FOUR, and GRADE FIVE, GRADE SIX and GRADE SEVEN.
“Let’s Start At The Very Beginning” …
The Watchman dated December 30, 1937 encompasses FULL COVERAGE, and I quote:
“The well known {stet} firm of John J. Dixon, of Roosevelt, L. I. the contractors who built the Riverhead and Mattituck High School, have the foundations of the new Southold school well along and hope to start the walls soon now as the weather conditions are perfect for all masonry work.
Paul West, who is connected with the firm, has been residing at Harold Hudson’s home in Mattituck since the Mattituck school district in 1934.
The new building will be connected to the present brick school, thus making a fine structure when completed.
Harold R. Reeve and Sons of Mattituck are making good headway during this good weather. The brick walls and window frames are going up every day and the building begins to show for a fine structure in Peconic."
Making it “Legal”
The Long Island Traveler-Mattituck Watchman dated April 10, 1947 had a {LEGAL} NOTICE:
“The swings, merry-go-round and other playground equipment recently installed at the Peconic School are to be used only by the school children and by no others.
Trustees of Peconic School District.” {stet – The LEGAL NOTIC merely ended there within the column it appeared in in that April 10, 1947 edition!}
I’ll Be The Judge Of That!
The Long Island Traveler-Mattituck Watchman dated September 19, 1963 spotlighted this:
“As of September 18, 1963 all Southold Town Justice Court will be held in the Peconic School Auditorium on Wednesdays at 7:30 P.M.”
“May I Have Your Vote Please?”
The Long Island Traveler-Mattituck Watchman dated September 18, 1969 shared about the then-forthcoming November 4 Election. One of the many Southold Town Polling Places was at the Peconic School.
That Name Has Been Taken & It Belongs Here!
The Suffolk County News dated April 10, 1986 featured something a little confusing:
“A move to change the name of the Peconic Street Junior High School has resurfaced in the Connetquot School District {Bohemia, NY} as the school’s PTA presented the Board of Education with a petition Tuesday night requesting the change.
The proposed change, from Peconic Street to the Ronkonkoma Junior High School, was narrowly defeated by voters in 1984.
Pat Bruinsma, Peconic PTA president, said the school’s identity, location and connection with the district is often confused because it bears the name of an east end Long Island town. …”
Here A Little Clarification …
Ronkonkoma Middle School is located on Peconic Street in Ronkonkoma, NY. ~ JUST FOR THE SAKE OF IT ~ Here’s a link to the Ronkonkoma Middle School:
http://www.ccsdli.org/our_schools/ronkonkoma_middle_school