Bowdoin School Houses

District #5 - Unknown School House

Circa 18xx- 19xx

Possibly located in the Haigh Mountain area of Bowdoin, Maine.

1881 District 5 and 6 were combined.

The Districts 5

The only mention of this District is that in 1881 District 5 and 6 were combined. The Annual Reports for 1880, 1883, 1886 there was no mention of this District.

District #6 - Ward School House

Circa 1883 - 1921

Located on former Ward Road, aka Huffs Mill Road, Haigh Road, in East Bowdoin, Maine.

The Ward School House

According to notes, the building was built on a hill and later taken to Bowdoin Center. It was closed in 1921.

District #7 - Lewis Hill School

Circa 18xx- 19xx

Formerly located on the south end of the Lewis Hill Road, Bowdoin, Maine on the part of the old road.

1858 School House noted on the 1858 Town of Bowdoin Atlas.

1880 This District was not included in any Town Annual Reports on or after 1880.

The Districts 7

The only mention of this District is on the 1858 Town of Bowdoin Atlas.

District #8 - Buker School

Circa 18xx- 18xx

Formerly located across from the Buker Homestead on the Lewis Hill Road, Bowdoin, Maine.

The Districts 8

The Buker daughters circa 1880 said that there was a school house across from their house. This District was not included in any Town Annual Reports on or after 1880.

District #9 - Judah Small School

Formerly located on the west side of the Lewis Hill Road in Bowdoin, Maine.

Circa 1880 - 1945

The Judah Small School House

The Judah Small School was named after the man, Judah Small. This school was located on the Lewis Hill Road, across from the current Jim Wagg home. The building had a central door with an arched window and flag pole in the peak. The side of the building had one small window near the front, and a large window toward the back. The chimney was in the back.

District #10 - Carr School

Formerly located northwest of the intersection of the E. Burrough Road and the Meadow Road, in Bowdoin, Maine.

The Carr School House

The Carr School is currently built into the building of the Card family barn on the northeast side of the intersection of the Meadow Road and the Doughty Road. This school was located on the northwest side of this intersection.

District #11 - Bowdoin Center School House

Circa 1878 - 1959

Formerly located northwest of the Bowdoin Center intersection.

The Bowdoin Center School House

The Bowdoin Center was named for its location close to the center of town. It was located after the brook on the Litchfield Road, northwest of Bowdoin Center. This was one of the larger schools in the area. Children from as far away as north of Caesar’s Pond went to this school. The building had two doors with transoms and a central window in the peak. This was one of the last of the one-room schoolhouses closed in 1959, upon the opening of the original Bowdoin Central School. This building was moved around 2005 to the current Town Office complex on Cornish Drive in Bowdoin. The Bowdoin Historical Preservation Committee undertook this move, with a girl scout as the spearhead.

District #12 - Kingdom School House

Before 1858 - 1897*

1858 Sagadahoc County Atlas - Bowdoin Map shows a School House just south of Caesar's Pond. This was presumably the original District 12.

A second location of a school house was on Main Street, just east of the John Small Road. On the Route 125 road layout map, shows this school lot.

The Kingdom School House

After 1898, a new school was built called the West Bowdoin School, although some called it the Kingdom School. It was located southwest of the brook near the intersection of the Store Road and Main Street, Rt. 125. See Below - New West Bowdoin School.

District #13 - Starbird School House

Circa 1891 - 1927

Formerly located northwest of the Starbird Corner Road on the Litchfield Road, in Bowdoin, Maine.

The Starbird School House

The Starbird School was closed in 1927. Local students from the area were conveyed to the Bowdoin Center School. The building had one door on the right with a window on the left and a small round window in the peak. Along the right of the building were two windows.

The building was moved to Topsham, restored and built into a private home.

District #14 - Varney School House

Circa before 1858 - 1906

Formerly located at Varney’s Corner on the road to Litchfield, between a brook and the Academy Road, in Bowdoin, Maine.

The Varney School House

The Varney School closed near the turn of the century and “fell apart in an attempt to move it", around 1906.

District #15 - Wood School House

Circa 1800s - 1940

Formerly located near the middle of the Wood School Road in Bowdoin, Maine.

The Wood School House

The Wood School was named because of its placement “in the woods”. The Wood School House was built in amongst a maple grove. The trees are still standing on the land now. Children would get water from the spring north of the school. The spring was found in the 2000s still will the boards in existence. The Wood School had a central door with a window to the right, as well as a flag pole in the peak. The side of the building had two windows, with a chimney in the back. The building had a shed, and the maple trees surrounded the school yard. The school was moved from the base of the Wood School Road, to the top where the maple grove is. It closed in 1940.

District #16 - Wheeler School House

Circa bef 1858 - 1935

Formerly located northwest of the intersection of the West Road and the Magee Road, in Bowdoin, Maine.

1858 Atlas shows a school house on the southwest side of the intersection with the Wheeler Road.

The Wheeler School House

The Wheeler School was built on a little knoll at the base of the Wheeler Road in Northwest Bowdoin. Children from the West Road neighborhood, attended the school until it closed in 1935. The building had a central door with a window to the left, an arched window and a flag pole in the peak. The south side of the building had two windows, with a chimney in the back. The building had a wood shed, coat room and a small building for bathrooms.

The building was bought for a bid of $126 to be used for storage. The land was reverted back to the family. After the building had deteriorated it was torn down. The final remnants of the school were burned in 1983.

District #17 - West Bowdoin School House - The 'Red' School

Circa 18xx-1898

Currently located at the Bernier farm gravel pit entrance on the West Road/Kettlebottom Road, in Bowdoin, Maine.

2020 currently still standing as a storage shed

The Red School House

The Red School House located on the West Road in Bowdoin, near the Kettlebottom gravel pit. The school house was painted red and served as a high school in Bowdoin in the 1880s. In 1898 this school house was replaced by the West Bowdoin School on Main Street near the Store Road.

District #18 - Borough School House - Denham School

Circa bef 1858 - 1928

Formerly located north of the W. Burrough Road, in Bowdoin, Maine.

The Borough School House

The Borough School was located on the W. Burrough Road, near the intersection of the McIvers Farm Road. In the 2010s the deteriorated building was burned.

The New West Bowdoin School House (Kingdom School)

Circa 1898 - 1959

The West Bowdoin School House

See the Kingdom School.

This new school was southwest of the brook near the intersection of the Store Road and Main Street, Rt. 125. In 1898, the Red School, District 17 and the Kingdom School was combined to make the West Bowdoin School. Both West Bowdoin School and Kingdom School names were continued to be used interchangeably. The school building was moved across from the Bing Moore Road. That building is currently deteriorated and is in ruins in the field.

1898 Replaced the Red School - District 17 and the Kingdom School

1959 One of the last four school houses to close upon the opening of the Bowdoin Central School

The Bowdoin High School at Bowdoin Center

Circa 1880s

The Bowdoin High School at Bowdoin Center

“The building, now known as the Bowdoin Center Baptist Church has had a varied usage. During the 1880’s it was used some years as the Bowdoin High School. For short periods of time it was the Quaker’s Meeting House, the Good Templar’s Lodge and the home of the Sagadahoc Grange. In 1897 the property was deeded to the Baptist Society of Bowdoin and has remained in their ownership.” Pictorial History of Bowdoin, Maine 1788-1988 Bicentennial

Original Bowdoin Central School

Circa 1959-2002

Original Bowdoin Central School

"In 1959, the era of Bowdoin’s many one-room school houses came to an end. One school was established, and Bowdoin Central School opened its doors to 157 students in grades K-6. In naming the school, the word, “Central” had significant meaning. The original location of the school was exactly that, the crossroads of the community, the central location." BCS website

Bowdoin Central School - current

2002-present

Bowdoin Central School

"In 2002, the school’s location changed, but the word “Central” continues to carry meaning as its role in the community is such an integral part. Nestled into the sixty-five acres of rolling fields and a wooded backdrop, the school offers students and community members space for outdoor activities such as baseball, soccer or even snowshoeing across the fields and forests on a snowy winter’s day. The community is encouraged to use the building as well, providing a place for many activities such as scouts, recreational sports, and voting to name just a few.

Today, Bowdoin Central School enrolls a little over two hundred students with an average classroom size of 18 students. The school has approximately 40 staff members including classroom teachers, specialists and special education teachers, as well as various support staff. There is a small, but active parent teacher club, which meets in the school’s library the third Wednesday of every month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Interested community members are always welcome!" BCS website