The Andover Historical Society’s Tucker Mountain School House will be open on Sunday, August 9, from 1 to 3 PM. Activities will include a scavenger hunt for historical items around the 1837 school house like a mortise and tendon joint, a wooden wall peg, something that shows evidence of a porcupine, something that shows evidence of a squirrel, a cut nail, evidence that the desks had foot rests, a hitching ring, and so on. Children who finish the list will receive a small memento of their achievement.

More than 20 visitors attended the open house on the second Sunday in July. Squeezing lemons and making homemade lemonade was quite the hit, along with eating Pat Baker’s homemade oatmeal raisin cookies!

Among folks visiting was a three generation party – Jack and Lynette Speake of Wilmot, their daughter Allyson, and their granddaughter Avalea. Almost five years old, Avalea really enjoyed the juice press.

One of the most frequently asked questions, after visitors have traveled the two miles up Tucker Mountain Road to reach the school, is “Why would they build a school way up here?” This is a great question, because it sets the scene.

The school was built in 1837 within view of at least six farms. Only cellar holes remain of all but two of the original farms.

In the 1800s, Tucker Mountain would have been mostly pasture, with stone walls running all the way to the ridge. Sheep were primarily farmed here. At its peak, the school would have had as many as 30 students. Tucker Mountain was a bustling community.

I remember many years ago, it was suggested that the school be moved to a “safer” location so as to better protect it. My parents owned it at the time, and my mother was adamant that it never be moved. She believed that people need to visit it where it was built so as to really understand and feel what it must have been like to go to school there.

It remains where it was built. It is a beautiful setting and worth the two-mile trek from Maple Street.

For more information or to arrange a visit, call Andover Historical Society’s president, Pat Cutter, at 735-5628 or Donna Baker-Hartwell at 735-5586.