HSST: Keepers of Our Heritage
The Historical Society of Stillwater Township (HSST) was founded in 1977 by a group of proud Stillwater neighbors eager to chronicle their roots and share the heritage of their beloved town. Dedicated to the mission of promoting interest in the rich history of the region, the HSST also strives to preserve structures and sites of historical value and organizes educational events to widen its impact to the community.
HSST is located in the building known as “The Academy” which sits on the bend where Stillwater Road runs into Main Street. A massive 200-year old Sycamore tree shades the entrance. The building houses a reference library, extensive genealogical archives of local families, and a museum of artifacts which interpret the story of Stillwater’s first European settlers. Objects deemed ordinary by the original owners illustrate their livelihoods, home life, education, religious faith and military sacrifice dating back before the Revolutionary War. A collection of artifacts representing the Lenape, Stillwater’s original people, includes ancient tools and weapons crafted thousands of years ago.
The Academy: A Tale of Two Centuries
Elementary School (1842-1909)
The Academy was built in 1842, two decades before the Civil War, and served as Stillwater’s second school. The first school had opened twenty years earlier in the area which is now Stillwater Cemetery. By 1849 the Academy was accommodating 79 students on two floors connected by a steep and precarious staircase which still exists today. The school building was smaller than the present structure and did not include the addition of 1954 which increased its girth considerably.
By 1908 the student body had outgrown the structure and moved into the town’s third schoolhouse, located around the corner on Route 521 South. (The building is now a private residence.) It was one of five schoolhouses scattered across the Township. In 1941, the four-room Stillwater Township Elementary School opened on its present site on Stillwater Road and the students were united under one roof.
PATRIOTIC ORDER SONS OF AMERICA,
CAMP NO. 124 (1910-1941)
By 1909 the Academy could no longer accommodate the growing number of students, so the Trustees had another schoolhouse built nearby and the building was put up for auction. It was purchased by the Patriotic Order Sons of America (P.O.S. of A.), an organization that had been meeting in the Stillwater Grange building since 1908. P.O.S. of A. used the Academy building as a lodge room and public hall for thirty years. The national organization had been established in Philadelphia in 1847 with the stated mission of preserving the public school system.
Library (1945-1954)
The student body of the new Stillwater Elementary School continued to grow and the space was insufficient to include a library. In 1945 school Principal Mary Dixon and her husband Mayor Amos Dixon bought the Academy building to house the school library. For the three years students walked down to the Academy to borrow books.
In 1945, once the Stillwater School expanded to accommodate its own library, the Dixons decided to use the Academy Building for a public library which was named the Mary W. Dixon Library. It was maintained by the Board of Librarians, a 30-member group of volunteers better known as the “Library Ladies”. In 1948 the Dixons founded the Stillwater Neighborhood House, a charity to which the property was conveyed. The Mary W. Dixon Library remained in its original space.
The building had no central heating. Hiram Beegle, a Stillwater native who had attended primary school in the Academy in the early 1870’s, became the caretaker of the building. Every morning he lit a fire in the pot belly stove to warm the place up, endearing himself to the librarians. They threw a big birthday party for him when he turned 80.
Museum (1954-1977)
Throughout his life, while making his living as a cooper, carpenter, beekeeper and other trades, Hiram Beegle collected antiques and curios. In 1954 Beegle bequeathed his collection of artifacts to the Board of Librarians and to “his girls”, inspiring the vision of a local museum. The collection was so extensive that such a project could be feasible only by expanding the space, which was added in 1954 with funds donated by Charlotte L. Jones of Middleville. The new space includes an exhibition hall which was dedicated to Hiram Beegle. Since that time many local residents have donated antiques passed down in their own families, yet the Beegle bequest served as the critical founding collection which launched the museum.
Historical Society of Stillwater TWP
(1977 to present)
The Historical Society of Stillwater Township (HSST) was officially established in 1977 as a private non-profit organization with a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt status. By-laws were written and a legal structure was set up.
For the next four decades, the HSST flourished with fresh ideas from new members who contributed their talents to widen the scope of activities. The Academy building has supported diverse missions and objectives of the Stillwater community for almost two hundred years. Today, as a museum presenting the lifestyles and possessions of our Stillwater ancestors, it provides a space for us to reflect on those who came before us and to learn from their experiences. By the same token, HSST owes its ongoing success to the devotion and perseverance of the many volunteers who carried the torch throughout the years. They showed us that it takes a community.
The founding officers were:
Carolyn Celli, President
Elsie Roof, Vice President
Sadie Hill Gass, Secretary
McClellan Rosencrans, Treasurer
Wilma Hill, Meeting Records
Former Presidents of HSST (1978 to the present)
1977-1980 – Caroline Celli
1981-1982 – Elsie Roof
1983-1984 – Sadie Hill
1985 – Mac Rosencrans
1986-1987 – Pat Parsons
1988-1989 – Rose Paul
1990-1992 – Kate Gordon
1993-1997 – Donald Robbins
1998-2000 – Caroline Celli
2001-2002 – Joan Teare
2003 – Tina Hoffman
2004 – Nancy Harris
2005 – Bud Teare
2006-2008 – Mike Wiley
2009 – Dennis Pegg (Acting)
2010-2015 – Bob Grabowski
2016 – Skip Hemschott (Acting)
2017 – Pete Harvey
2018-Present – Deborah Drumm
Timeline
1842
Stillwater Academy opens as the town’s second elementary school.
1909
Students move to new schoolhouse.
1910
Patriotic Order Sons of America (P.O.S. of A.) buy the Academy building at auction.
1941
The P.O.S. of A. puts the building up for sale. The new 4-room Stillwater Consolidated School opens.
1945
Mary Dixon, Principal of Stillwater School, and her husband Mayor Amos F. Dixon, buy the vacant Academy building as a place to relocate the school library.
1948
The Dixons found the Neighborhood House of Stillwater as a legal a charity to which the property is conveyed. The Mary Dixon Library is housed within. “Library Ladies” volunteer group is organized.
1954
Stillwater native Hiram Beegle bequeaths his collection of historical artifacts to the Board of Librarians. Charlotte L. Jones of Middleville funds a two-story addition to the building to accommodate and display the collection.
1958
Mary Dixon passes away. Her husband sets up a trust fund to ensure maintenance of the premises and the collections by the Board of Librarians. It is named the “Mary W. Dixon Memorial Library and Museum.”
1958–1977
During the next two decades, the Academy serves as a community center as well as a public library. The “Library Ladies” continue to volunteer as librarians and museum guides, and organize educational activities.
1977
Formal establishment of the Historical Society of Stillwater Township. The founding officers are Carolyn Celli, President; Elsie Roof, Vice President; Sadie Hill Gass, Secretary; McClellan Rosencrans, Treasurer.
2007
Building is repainted from white into present colors representing how it may have looked in the 1800’s.