History

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Teachers and students sitting outside of the old Riverside school

Members of the Hall-Walter family together at the Riverside house, around 1970.

old photo of students standing outside of the Riverside School
Students sitting on porch of the Riverside School
Old photo of teachers and students outside at the Riverside School
Old photo of teacher teaching a class at the Riverside School
The Riverside School Timeline

Riverside was the home of Dudley P. Hall, who built Riverside in 1864. He made his fortune as a lumber baron in Burke before starting a mill in Lyndonville. His portrait hangs in the office of the head of the school. The Riverside house stayed in the Hall family for many generations. Hall's daughter, Mabel, married Charles Walter, and the house was passed on to their daughter, Dorothy Charlotte Walter, who made many changes, including restoring the furnace, digging a well, and rebuilding the foundation. When Dorothy died the house passed to her sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth left Riverside to her daughter, Annette, whose child, Annie, also spent much time there.


Riverside Cottage, as it was then called, was the site of many social events, including weddings, Halloween parties, birthdays, and church socials. Many of these events were held in the Cedar Circle while the children played in the cupola. These social customs were passed down through the family members that lived at Riverside.


Dr. Timothy Thompson bought the house in 1976 when the original family could no longer afford its upkeep. He made more renovations to the house, adding a laundry room and closing up the four-seat outhouse (currently the paint closet). The Thompsons also started a school in their house because they wanted their elementary-age children to be challenged more. They wanted their children to learn French and to explore hands-on learning in a small community. When the Wildridge School in Newark closed, the Newells and the Kohnes were open to new teaching opportunities and joined the Thompsons at what was then called the Riverside Day School. In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. Thompson worked part-time as a teacher. When the school started, there were eight students and used rooms one, two, and three, while the Thompson family lived in the rest of the house.


There have been a great many overnight field trips in the history of The Riverside School. There was usually one in the spring and one in the fall. Everyone, student and teacher alike, was expected to help out on these field trips. For instance, they would wash the dishes, clean the fire pits, and at the end of the field trips the kids would take down the tents. When they went on field trips all the students would get an assignment packet that would have to be finished by the end of the trip. Today, Riverside continues to take two all-school field trips each year.


The early days of Riverside saw the birth of many traditions that continue today. Students also could win an award that's called the Kohne cup, which was won by getting the most eggs on the Easter Egg Hunt. They had Kite Day when they made their own kites and flew them. When Riverside was a young school, the Thompson's cat would knock over the students' lunch bags and the dogs would eat it. The students started bringing in lunch boxes that closed. They used to have art in the cupola because it was a great view. Riverside has always performed plays. Every year the kids would have Mr. Newell dress up in a huge pumpkin costume and he would go around checking on classes on Halloween. Many of these traditions have changed over the years, but many live on. We continue to hold Mythology Day in celebration of our emphasis on classics. We put on an all-school musical theater production every spring. And every fall, Riverside students participate in Global Fair to honor the long-running Riverside emphasis on geography.


Written by the Class of 2009, fall 2005: Deanna Emery, Nora Gair, Areg Muradian, Grace Phillips, Ezra Racine, Alex Sherbrook, Hannah Sourbeer. Revised by the Class of 2009, spring 2009: Deanna Emery, Nora Gair, Colin Jacobs, Sarah Lynch, Dan Maghini, Areg Muradian, Grady Nixon, Brook O'Meara-Sayen, Grace Phillips, Alex Sherbrook, Evan Tirey.

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