Schools

Students Encounter Life in the 19th Century at Local Historic Home

Students in the Marple Newtown School District as well as students from Episcopal Academy and the Stratford Friends School had a historical field trip to the Paper Mill House and Museum from April 12-14.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–For one day, fourth-grade students from the imagined what life would be like without cell phones or TVs.

From Tuesday to Thursday, each fourth-grade class in all four elementary schools in the district as well as students from and took a historic trip back in time to the in Newtown Square. Patch tagged along with 's tour on Wednesday afternoon.

Although many students were excited to simply leave the confines of a classroom for half a day, many were, surprisingly, even more excited to take part in chores–such as doing laundry by hand or cutting wood–from the 19th century.

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"I think it's pretty cool so far. I liked the old map of the town and I'm excited to do the two-man saw," said Drew Christiansen, 10. during the tour through the old paper mill.

The two-man saw was likely the most popular "chore" or activity, whichever way you saw it, throughout the day.

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For Alyssa Rubin, although she enjoyed everything, her favorites included the two-man saw and the skits performed by homeschooled children around the area, interpreting life back in the early 1800s.

"It's very fun. I really enjoyed everything. They're really original," observed Rubin about the homeschooled students in costume. "I also really liked the two-man and all the skits."

According to Newtown Square Historical Preservation Society Education Director Lisa Livezey–who organized the school tours and is a homeschooling mom with two sons who participated in the enactments–the tours started approximately 12 years ago by two homeschooling mothers Lynn Noble and Sue Nagi. And the rest was literally history in the making.

"We both had daughters about the same age when we started this. My girls and I did the activity room and Sue [Nagi] took care of the middle-floor tours," recalled Noble. "It's really neat to see all the students participate together (public school and homeschooled children)."

The tour has students walk through the old walls and floors of the historic paper mill home with existing artifacts laid around each room from the 19th century as well as encountering homeschooled students dressed and speaking in character from the 1800s.

Mary Mox, 16, said she has been participating in the tours since she was about 11 and can't get enough of it. On Wednesday, Mox dressed up in a traditional dress with a bonnet tied to her head.

"I really love immersing myself in history like this and like you're living in the 19th century," said Mox. "It's just really neat to see the reactions of the kids."

For Martha William, a 10-year volunteer participating in the tours, said she also enjoyed the tours because "I enjoy interacting with the kids."

William Livezey, 9, a homeschool student and a veteran to the paper mill home tours, said he started at the age of 1. Although he didn't remember much from when he first started the tours, he did recall a time when younger brother Trevor, now age 3 and perhaps a natural, started participating.

"He started doing the tours when he was born," said William. "There was one time when we were doing a skit and he left the room like he was supposed to."

Other additional activities offered for students to try during the tour included tasting traditional breads and butter, calligraphy writing, tying knots, basket-weaving and paper making.

From public to homeschool, two worlds collided back in time to the 19th century creating lasting memories to last for a lifetime.

For more information on the Paper Mill Home and Museum, check out the Newtown Square Historical Preservation Society website for details on the historic building, directions and tours.


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