Plainsboro’s Two Room School House

In honor of schools starting again in September, let’s explore the history of Plainsboro’s schools, beginning with Plainsboro’s Two Room School House!

Prior to 1919, Plainsboro did not exist as a township. Interestingly, the lack of an adequate school resulted in Plainsbro’s emergence as an independent township due to a successful petition in 1919. Various one-room schoolhouses existed in Plainsboro from the 1840s. The exact date of the creation of the two-room schoolhouse which currently serves as Plainsboro’s library is unknown. However, it is assumed that the two-room school was built in 1908 to replace a previous school building that could not accommodate the growing student population.

The two-room schoolhouse was actually one very large room divided into two separate rooms by a sliding partition wall with blackboards on each side. Third through fifth grades were in one room while sixth through eighth were in the other. 

As the years passed, the two-room schoolhouse became too small because of the increased student population. So, the Township had to use the previous school building again for additional classroom space. In the following years, the two-room schoolhouse would serve as the First Presbyterian Church for Sunday School, a voting place of one of the Township districts, the Town Hall, a courtroom, police headquarters, and a Boy Scout Troop meeting area.