Fort Harrod School
The school at Fort Harrod was the first one west of the Allegheny Mountains. Teacher Jane Coomes, from Maryland, taught her students from a primitive version of the Old English Horn Book, a paddle-shaped piece of clapboard with a handle whittled to fit a child’s fingers. From these “books” the children learned the alphabet, arithmetic, and the Lord’s Prayer.
The school building had no chinking between the logs because Coomes believed the children needed fresh air. The floor was packed dirt. The large fireplace had an opening on one end so firewood could be loaded onto the andirons without having to carry the wood through the classroom.
Schoolhouse Photographs
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