For those looking to own a piece of Lincoln County history, the former home of the Salt Marsh School in Edgecomb is officially on the market. The house, located at 245 River Rd., once housed a one-room schoolhouse that served the residents of Edgecomb from 1846 to 1945.
The modest dwelling was built from bricks dug from the shores of Salt Marsh cove and was deeded for $8 by Betsy Williams to school district No. 4. It has been in private hands since 1955 but is fondly remembered by those who attended.
“I remember they had private privies, one for males and one for females. The walls were so thin you could have conversations if you had a buddy in the adjoining bathroom,” said alumnus Jo Cameron of Edgecomb who attended in the 1940s.
Cameron, who lived directly across from the school, said a typical day at Salt Marsh began at 8 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. The one-room schoolhouse posed challenges but Cameron says it was nothing out of the ordinary at the time.
“I remember there was a big hot water furnace where we put our mittens and gloves,” she said.
The school had one teacher who would be charged with educating children in the first through eighth grade. Cameron recalls one enterprising teacher who used one book, pegged at an eighth grade level from which every student would learn regardless of age.
“She was a glamorous women, the most glamorous I had ever seen at the time. She wore elaborate bracelets and bright colors,” said Cameron.
All the students would walk to school and bring lunchboxes. For recreational activities, children would play a game called Giant Step.
“You would stand in a circle and ask someone if you may take a giant step. We always played King of the Castle,” she said.
When the school closed in 1954, Cameron recalls no particular pomp or circumstance for the event. All Edgecomb students eventually went to the original Eddy School, which has since been replaced by the modern Eddy School on the Boothbay Road. Cameron, who still lives across from the Salt Marsh School, said one particular thing she remembers was the puzzling matter of tardiness.
“I was always late and I had the shortest walk,” she said.
For more information please contact Wayne Farrin of Farrin Properties at 563-2750.
