A legal meeting of the inhabitants of the North School District in Plantation X was "holden" at the house of Aaron Hobart on June 18, 1823, for the purpose of raising money for building a schoolhouse. The attendees contributed $200 for the 21' x 30' structure, (later called the Preston School), on the line between Aaron Hobart and Benjamín R. Jones at the road laid out fomrthe Bridge (Lower) to Nathaniel Stoddard's lot. Aaron Hobart, Daniel Smith, Jr., and Isaac Hobart Jr., were appointed members of the building committee. A record was kept of the amounts paid for labor in September and October of that year: Paid the mason for building the chimney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.00 Paid William Preston for schoolhouse frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$30.00 Paid Ebenezer Chickering for Carpenter work . . . . . . . . . . . . . $42.97 Paid Potter the mason for plastering the schoolhouse . . . . . . $5.00 In 1850, when there were six school districts in Edmunds and 190 pupils, $263.73 was spent for schools. No. District Pupils Cost 1. North (Preston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 $52.74 2. South (Hallowell) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 $58.23 3. Middle (Little Falls) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 $30.55 4. Allan (near Bells' Bridge) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 $26.39 5. Cathance (on Marion Road) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 $31.92 6. Mill (Lyons Hill) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 $63.80 In 1897, the North School (Preston) of Edmunds closed its ten-week spring termon Friday, July 25. The teacher, Emily Cambridge (Mrs. Harry) reported that of the 29 scholars registered, 14 had perfect attendance: Levia Dodge, Evie Hayward, Maggie Hersey, Clara Jones, Charles Leighton, Eurilla Leighton, Ruth Leighton, Earl Matthie, Ernest Preston, Margie Preston, Susie Preston, Edward Seeley, Milton Smith. In 1936 only three Edmunds schools were open--the Hallowell District, the Preston School, and the Lyons Hill School--being taught by Mildred Hallowell, Irene Crocker of Machias, and Nellie MacLauchlan. The first four grades were at the Preston School and the upper grades at the Lyons HiIl School. When Edmunds became a township in 1938, the schools were supervised by the State Department of Education. Fourteen years later , in 1952, a consolidated school, as recommended by Sut. Keyes in 1928-29, was built on the Harrison Road to accommodate all of the Edmunds elementary pupils, construction having been hastened by the destruction by fire of the Lyons Hill School on March 24, 1950. From Rebecca W. Hobart, "Dennysville 1786-1986 . . . and Edmunds, Too!" 2nd ed. Dennys River Historical Society, 1993, pp. 98-99

Dennys River Historic Photographs