One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room. There, a single teacher taught academic basics to several grade levels of elementary-age children. While in many areas one-room schools are no longer used, some remain in developing nations and rural or remote areas where scarce students and/or teachers complicate organizing the educational process differently.
Lyles Consolidated School is a historic school in Lyles Station, Indiana. The third school to be located in Lyles Station, it was opened in 1919 and used until 1958. Abandoned for nearly forty years, it had deteriorated almost to the point of total collapse by 1997. The Lyles Station Historic Preservation Corporation was founded in June 1997, to preserve and promote the history of the Lyles Station community. Its major project was restoration of the schoolhouse, intending to use it as a living history museum to educate others both about Lyles Station's history and the daily school routine in the early twentieth century. The school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Restoration of the site was completed in 2003.
The Thomas Select School is a historic log building in rural Butler County, Ohio, United States. Constructed in 1810, the building has seen numerous uses, ranging from church to school to house. It has been named a historic site.
The District #2 Schoolhouse, known locally as the Garfield School and also known as Brunswick District No. 2 School, located in Brunswick, New York, United States, is a two-room schoolhouse built and opened in 1881. It hosted local students until the consolidation of Brunswick (Brittonkill) Central School District in the mid-1950s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1988, becoming the first building in the Town of Brunswick to be added to the Register. It is the current home of the Brunswick Historical Society.
Fishing Creek Schoolhouse is a historic school located in the Villas census-designated place, of Lower Township, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. The schoolhouse was built in 1888 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 6, 1980.
Indian Rock Schoolhouse, also known as District 3 Schoolhouse or Webutuck Country Schoolhouse, is located on Mygatt Road in the hamlet of Amenia, New York, United States. It is a wooden one-room schoolhouse built in the mid-19th century in accordance with a standard state plan for small rural schools that reflected contemporary educational reform movements.
The Hurlbutt Street School is a historic one-room schoolhouse at 157 Hurlbutt Street in Wilton, Connecticut. Built in 1834, it served the town as a school for nearly a century, and was then converted into a local history museum. It is the town's best-preserved 19th-century district school building, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The Drennan School, also known as the Drennan Community Building, is a historic building in Ellicott, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The building was first owned by the Widefield School District in El Paso County. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Forest Grove School No. 5 is an historic building located near Bettendorf, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
The Pleasant Hill School, also known as the Little Red School House, is a historic building located north of Lineville in rural Wayne County, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1881 on land that had been purchased for educational purposes in 1873, and it housed a one-room school until 1958. The Grand River Independent School District donated the school building to the Wayne County Historical Society. They maintain it as it was when it served as a schoolhouse. The interior furnishings are authentic, if not original to the building. The school yard is maintained as a roadside park along U.S. 65. The building follows a rectangular plan that is three bays long and two bays wide. It is capped with a gable roof. A small entryway is located on the south side of the structure. The school building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The Braintree School, also known as the District 8 School, is a historic school building at 9 Warren Switch Road in Pawlet, Vermont, United States. It is a single-room district schoolhouse built in 1852, and used as a school until 1934. It is now a museum property owned by the Pawlet Historical Society, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
The Beaver Meadow School is a historic school building at 246 Chapel Hill Road in Norwich, Vermont. Built in 1922, it is a rare late example of a one-room schoolhouse, made further distinctive by the survival of its original schoolroom interior. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
The Brock Hill Schoolhouse is a historic one-room schoolhouse on North Road in rural Newbury, Vermont. Built in 1850, it is a well-preserved example of a mid-19th century schoolhouse with Greek Revival styling. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The Root School is a historic school building at 987 Union Village Road in Norwich, Vermont. Built in 1937, it is a rare late example of a one-room schoolhouse, made further distinctive by the survival of its original schoolroom interior. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
The District No. 5 Schoolhouse is a historic district school building at 32 Pleasant Valley Road in Underhill, Vermont. Built in 1861, it served the town as a school until it was damaged by fire in 1951, but remains a community landmark. It is now owned by the local historical society. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
A two-room schoolhouse is a larger version of the one-room schoolhouse, with many of the same characteristics, providing the facility for primary and secondary education in a small community or rural area. While providing the same function as a contemporary primary school or secondary school building, a small multi-room school house is more similar to a one-room schoolhouse, both being architecturally very simple structures. While once very common in rural areas of many countries, one and two-room schools have largely been replaced although some are still operating. Having a second classroom allowed for two teachers to operate at the school, serving a larger number of schoolchildren and/or more grade levels. Architecturally, they could be slightly more complex, but were still usually very simple. In some areas, a two-room school indicated the village or town was more prosperous.
The Old Trail School, at 421 High St. in Wiggins, Colorado, is a historic one-room schoolhouse which was built around 1912. It has also been known as the Reed School, presumably because it was located on the Reed family homestead. It was moved in 1917 to a site close to the Fort Morgan cut-off of the Overland Trail. It served as a school from c.1912 to 1946, when schools were consolidated. It was then moved to Wiggins to stand next to the continuing school there, and it was used as a music room. After the continuing school was expanded in 1963, it was no longer needed for that purpose. The Wiggins Historical Group took ownership in 1964 and moved it to its current location. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The Buckeye School, in Larimer County, Colorado near Wellington, Colorado, now known as the Buckeye Community Center, was a rural two-room schoolhouse built in 1925. It was used as a school until 1960. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
The Arrowhead Lodge, at 34500 Poudre Canyon Hwy., Roosevelt National Forest, in Larimer County, Colorado, served by the post office in unincorporated Bellvue, Colorado, was a resort camp which was built in 1931. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
