Hellertown Borough

History of Education in Saucon Valley

The importance of education was not universal to all German settlers or immigrants of other nationalities or faiths.   The critical aspect of life for them centered on survival and prosperity with piety, but not necessarily higher learning. In fact, schooling, when it did take place was only during those few months in the winter when the farmlands lay fallow.

 Most secular education in the Saucon Valley area during the eighteenth century took place in one-room schoolhouses. They were often crudely built of logs on land donated by a farmer. This land was usually unsuitable for farming so that the location of the school may have been a swamp or barren land. Over time, the crude structures were replaced by more permanent ones, often built of stone. These schools varied in size and character and continued in use until 1950. They were strategically placed so that students walked to school. The teacher’s salary was obtained by charging a fee, which was his duty to collect.

            In 1809, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania attempted to require an education for all citizens regardless of financial circumstance. The Act of 1809 required each County to provide free schooling for those families unable to afford to send their children to school. In order to take advantage of the free education, parents had to declare that they were poor or pay a fee for the education of their children. Neither alternative was attractive to struggling families and many children in families of limited means went uneducated. Even so, there were at least 10 one-room schoolhouses in the Saucon Valley area at the time.

            In 1834, the legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passed the “Free School Act of 1834.” This law required a free education regardless of means. This was not done without controversy. Even some who could not afford to send their children to school were apposed on various grounds. Many felt that school and religion were one and worried that they should not be separated. Some felt that public education threatened their cultural roots, especially the German settlers who continued to speak in German. Others had no use for education at all and believed solely in the virtue of useful labor. The controversy was so great that it affected the election of senators and the following year many were sent to Harrisburg to undo this legislation. Although the legislation withstood the attempt, many counties voted not to accept it. Among those were the largely German counties of Lehigh, Northampton and Berks. 

            Instruction in English and German continued well past the colonial period.   The tradition of the one-room schoolhouse continued in Saucon Valley well into the twentieth century. Education in Pennsylvania became increasingly more standardized as additional legislation was introduced. Various publications or manuals were produced with suggested curriculum. Standards were introduced not only for the qualification of teachers, but requirements for a certificate of completion or diploma for the student.

            Even though immigration to Saucon Valley was largely German, because of the variety of religious beliefs of those early settlers, the development of educational institutions in the area was unique. The history of education in the region provides a distinctly different insight on the development of education in the colonial period of America.