The Brown’s Mill School, 1836–1922: A Convergence of Religion, the Home, and the State

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the material culture and sources that trace the history of the Brown’s Mill School in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It outlines the school’s construction, intended use, and its perception in memory. Brown’s Mill School’s architecture portrays a range of themes. Despite the growing separation between church and state, these themes included the community’s roots in family and religious instruction as well as the new progressively egalitarian democratic and republican institutions of the state. Originally called “Trinity” School, Brown’s Mill School represents an interesting departure from larger democratic trends. The people of Antrim Township championed ecumenical ideals, showing that not all communities had the same outlook on how to separate church and state, or more importantly, how not to. Having one room for a schoolhouse that serves the multiple civil functions of a village emphasizes how rural communities sought to include the institutions of the church, the home, and the state in one unified whole.