The Shelly School

1731 — Richland Township received its charter.

1834 — Free School Act was signed. One-half acre of land was purchased from Lewis Shelly for $100.

1885 — Shelly School was built and named after the landowner. Sebastian Lewis built the school for $926. The total land cost, survey building school, and furnishings was $1,388.20.

1890 — Richlandtown became a Borough.

1917 — Pennsylvania had almost 10,000 one-room schoolhouses with a single teacher.

1957 — The Richland Township area schools were consolidated into the Quakertown Community School System and the last of the area's one-room rural schoolhouses were closed.

1959 — The Richland Historical Society purchased the 1885 Shelly School from the Richland Township School District. The Shelly School is the meeting place of the Richland Historical Society. The library and the museum are located in a separate building. Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month at 2 p.m. Membership is extended to anyone 16 and older.

1984 — Melva Marsh Endean was the invited speaker at the 25th Homecoming of the Richland (one-room school) Historical Society. The following is from her notes on Sunday, September 9, 1984. At that time, Melva was the only surviving Charter member: “I am privileged and honored to be called upon to give remarks, however, I am a charter member because I signed a piece of paper (the charter) and was to be responsible for all payments due on the school. I think other people who have been members from the start should also be honored such as Betty Barringer and Al Fredericks. Next to come along were Marian and Jim Pfleiger. In 1962 Ed and Kay Fox and Florence Fluck joined and so on down the line.

Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Kochler had a dream to preserve the school house.

They bought the school house on August 21, 1959 at a price of $1750. The Charter was received Tuesday September 29, 1959 and cost $652.11.

In 1959, the first officers were Ellamanda Lewis, Pearl Frederick, M. Emma Kemmerer, and me, Melva Endean.

We had a lot of fundraisers to pay off the mortgage.

October 23, 1959 - rummage sale at the Q-Mart - $84

September 1960 - elected new officers - Jim Pfleiger, PearL Frederick, Betty Baringer, Betty Kemmera. Melva Endean

July 17, 1960 - 1st reunion, Quakertown Band - $25

June 18, 1961 - second reunion - $29.50

September 1962 - third reunion - had it in September ever since - $39.79

March 5, 1960 - oyster supper - $20.

June 1960 - public sale - $84.48

October 1960 - masquerade party - $31

October 1960 - candy sale - $100.

1961 - 1965- card parties every month - at $25/mo

Different groups met at the school and paid rent - stamp club, coin club, garden club, art league.

The mortgage was paid off in July 1962.

We bought the Hillpot barn in June 1962 for $1650 plus a $71.20 settlement. We burned that mortgage on September 11, 1966. It was obtained to eventually convert into a meeting place so we could keep the school as a full-time museum. We had money-making projects: Bazaars, candy sales, hat-a-ramas, square dances, and bus trips run by Marion Pflinger and myself. It was worth it.” – Melva Marsh Endean, Excerpt from a book called Wings of Silver