West Street School1750 – 1945
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Jesse Olney

The Southington Author Who Taught America Geography

Jesse Olney (1798–1872) was a Southington author. His A Practical System of Modern Geography, first published in 1828, taught students all across the country.

The archive wall

Pages from the 1835 Modern Geography

Scanned plates from the Society's 1835 edition, alongside Olney's portrait and signature — the pages a Southington author put in front of schoolchildren across the country.

Jesse OlneyOil portrait of the Southington author, 1798–1872
Title pagePractical System of Modern Geography — twentieth edition, New-York, 1835
Olney's signatureInked beside the printed “By J. Olney” on a title page
Part First“What is Geography? A description of the Earth.” — pages from the 1835 Modern Geography
United StatesThe 1787 Convention at Philadelphia in woodcut — pages from the 1835 Modern Geography
AmericaColumbus's 1492 landing in woodcut — pages from the 1835 Modern Geography
CanalsRoutes, lengths, breadth, and depth of early American canals — pages from the 1835 Modern Geography
ReligionsTable of religious denominations in 1831 — pages from the 1835 Modern Geography
CollegesLakes and colleges of the United States, Yale and Harvard among them — pages from the 1835 Modern Geography

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The School's History

Nearly two centuries of teaching in one room, from 1750 to 1945.

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Gifts to the Friends of West Street School Association restore, repair, and maintain the schoolhouse.

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