15. School Bell

This brass handbell was used to summon students to the one-room Etchison School in the early 20th century. It was donated in 1985 from the estate of E. Guy Jewell (1902-1984), who had been a teacher, administrator, and planner for the Montgomery County Public School system for fifty years. Mr. Jewell attended the Barnesville School and Poolesville High School; during his career he worked at several county schools, starting at the one-room Comus School, in 1921. There is no record that he ever worked at Etchison, but he most likely collected this piece during his extensive research into the history of the county’s public schools that resulted in his book, From One Room to Open Space: Montgomery County Public Schools from 1732 to 1965.

The Etchison School was a one-room school for white students at the corner of Woodfield and Sweepstake Roads in the small community of Etchison, near Damascus. It was in existence at least as early as 1899 (possibly as early as 1868) and it closed in 1937. One source in the Society’s files claims that after the Etchison School closed, the building was dismantled by the Works Progress Administration and the materials were used to construct a Home Economics building at Damascus High School.

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