Facts about Daketown School #8, by Historian Duane Cornell

• Built in 1877 to replace the original one that burnt to the ground in December of 1876 in the same location. Exact date of original building is not known but it is on a 1856 map.

• There were 20 school buildings in the Greenfield school system in 1800s. Each school was numbered for identification purposes and named for the local neighborhood it was located in. This school was originally #18 and was changed to # 8 in 1932 when school district was reorganized. It is named for the area that was settled by the Dake family in the early 1800s and became known as Daketown.

• Students from 1st thru 8th grade attended this school taught by one teacher.

• Windows on the south side of the building were moved to accommodate the installation of blackboards in 1915.

• Electric lights were installed in 1937. Prior to that kerosene lamps were used.

• A woodstove was used for heat and water was carried in each day in ceramic crock.

• There was no indoor bathroom, but only an outhouse. (It is still there.)

• This school closed in 1956, when students moved to Porter Corners school. (School was held at Daketown for over 100 years!!)

• There are people who attended this school still living in Greenfield today.

• After it closed it was sold and became a home and camp eventually being purchased by Daketown decendant Bill Dake who donated it to the Town of Greenfield Historical Society in 1991. In 2004 the Historical Society restored it to its original condition, as it was in the 1950s.

The historical society maintains the building and holds an open house at the school each year in June. If your group or school is interested in a private tour it can be arranged by contacting Joan Rowland, president of the Greenfield Historical Society at jrowland25@verizon.net or on the organization’s website at https://www.greenfieldhistoricalsociety.com/contact.html