Mt. Zion One-room Schoolhouse

The one-room school was built in 1869 and closed in 1931 during the superintendence of Arthur C. Humphreys. It was the idea of Dr. Paul Cooper, then Superintendent of Schools, to preserve a one-room school in a central location so that present and future generations of children would know more about school days in the past and the early educational facilities of the county. The school building was owned by Samuel Shockley (a former County Commissioner) who gave it to the Board of Education.  It was originally located at Mt. Zion, near Whiton, MD, and moved into Snow Hill in 1959.  You can see the picture in one of the scrapbooks to understand the condition of the building (no roof or floor).  The building is a symbol of public education in Maryland.

The Worcester County Teacher’s Association, Worcester County Retired Teachers and townspeople contributed toward the restoration of the building, much of which was done by the Board of Education. The school was dedicated on 6 June 1964, on a lot near Snow Hill High School.  It was later moved to a location on the corner of the school property because the earlier space was needed for a football field. In 1975 the Worcester County Retired Teachers Association took the restoration as their Bicentennial Project (Heat and air-conditioning added) and a handicapped ramp was installed in 2003 with donated supplies and work provided by the Board of Education. In 2016 the building was moved to Furnace Town.