The schools in the Clermont area

There have been five schools located in the Clermont area over the years.  They were Amend School , Patch School , Clermont School , Wernwag School and Station School . Students from Clermont attended three different high schools and they were Mt Jewett High School, Smethport High School , and Smethport Area High School .

The Patch School

The Patch School was located north of the settlement called the Patch. The Patch consisted of about 40 company houses built by the Buffalo Coal Company for their employees. The Patch also housed many of the miners who worked at Gumboot Mines and for the Pennsy Railroad.

Pictured here is a group picture of some students and teachers at the Patch School .

This is another group picture of Patch School Children and teachers:

Pictured here in the front row are: Dave Hurley, Dave Troop. Joe Hase, Fred Hagman, Jean Silfies, Fred Peterson, Harry Belgine, Barney Collins, Eddie Gibson, Steve Koshasy, John Callahan and John Clarkson.

In the second row are: Tom Hurley, Sophie Steinhauer, Blanche Silfies, Carrie Miscada, Gertrude Keating, Maud Walker, Nellie Anderson, lulu Fiddler, Gretha Amend, mary Whalen and Minnie Goodman.

Standing behind them are: Anna Gibson the teacher and Lizzie Clarkson

The Wernwag School

The Wernwag School was in operation in the early 1900’s and was located along present Route 146 near where the dirt road leads to Bunker Hill.  The following school picture was taken in 1909. The names of all the students are not all known but some of the family names that attended that school were as follows: Anderson, Axberg, Hagman, Huben, Mc Ewan, Mc Kendrick, Loveless, Serfoss, and Silfies

Several teachers taught at the Wernwag school over the years. They include Gertrude Keating, Gertrude Larson, Ann Spadafore, Marian Bloomster and Eileen Anderson.

The Amend School

The Amend School was located 3 miles west of Clermont along the road to Wilcox.  The building still stands and now is used as a hunting camp. There is a spring of water below the road that was used by the teacher and students.  The spring is still clear and the water is excellent.  Here is a picture of the school:

Below is a picture of the former Amend School as it is today being used as a hunting Camp.

Here are the pictures of the real key and key holder to the Amend School :

The Clermont School

The Clermont School was opened in 1930 and is shown in the picture below with a bell tower on it.

In 1911-1912 Ethel Perry taught the primary grades. These students were in her classroom: Lottie Dibler, Mary Rizzo, John Aloi, Robert Smith, Mary Domenela, Ethel Lebar, William Cline, Rena Rocco, Julia Pubelent, Helen Hoffman, Clarence Silfies, Joe Pubelent, Anne Spadafore, Joe Smith, Burg Searfoss, Bertha Beck, Rita Rocco, Vance Valentine, Rea Hafner, Dorothy Mc Cready, Howard Schleiff, Howard Clark, Tessa Hoffman, Margaret Silfies, John Gettis, Burdell Blauser, Thurston Blauser, Irene Sullivan, Cliff Anderson, and Helen Huber.

The teacher for the intermediate students was Blanche Silfies. The students were: Frank Valentine, Ada Searfoss, Grace Mumford, Margaret Mc Cready, Albert Lindquist, Julia Farr, Tillie Beck, Mary Hoffman, Lester Sullivan, Sarah Spadafore, Albert Anderson, Halsey Allison, Elmer Smith, Lillie Anderson, Leonard Amend, Esther Hagman, Genieve Hoffman, Martha Hoffman and Rose Spadafore.  

This is how the Clermont School looked in 1938 when students attended classes there. The Tower had been removed in 1932. The teachers at that time were Miss Hooley, Miss Perry, and Miss Larson.

Next is shown the building as it looked in 1999.

Here is a picture as it looks in 2001.

The Clermont Elementary School became a part of the Smethport Area School District in 1947. Miss Ethel Perry was the last teacher to work in the school.  It was closed down at the end of May in 1961. Miss Perry retired at the end of the 1960-1961 school year. Since then the students have been bused to one of the Smethport Elementary schools. When the new high school opened in the fall of 1961 in Smethport, the old one was converted into an elementary school. Clermont students attended this one until the new Smethport Area Elementary School was built behind the high school.

 The Station School

During the 1930's there were too many students for the Clermont School so the old Pennsy Railroad station seen below was used as a school.

The High Schools attended by Clermont students

 The students from Clermont that attended high school went to Smethport High School until 1934.  Before 1932 the students rode the trains to and from Smethport to attend high school or at one time some students rode together in a car. For the 1932-1933 school year Sergeant Township provided bus transportation to and from Smethport. John Hartberg had a small bus and drove the bus himself to transport the kids to school. 

    In the fall of 1933 Sergeant Township agreed to send its students to Mt Jewett High School.

 Here is a picture of the rear of Mt Jewett High School with members of the class of 1944.  

Members shown are Bill Sandstrom, Bob Hand, Roland Pier, Pete Mix, Dominic Alfieri, Fred Salvucci, Willie Bucheit, Elsa Cecchi, Janet Kane, Thursie Stroup, Lucille Gustafson, Lois Carl, Elaine Balon, Leatrice Cunningham, and Ruth Keenan.

John Hartberg continued to be the bus contractor until 1936. That fall Johnson and Keesler took over the bus transportation. The first Johnson and Keesler bus was blue and white. The Sergeant Township students continued to attend Mt Jewett High School until 1950. In that year the Clermont students began attending Smethport High School .

   Photo of the old High School and some information provided by Dawn Lord.  
 

 In 1956 Keating Township , Hamlin Township , Sergeant Township , Smethport Borough, and Norwich Township formed a jointure and became the Smethport Area School District . So the students from Clermont continued going to Smethport to attend high school. The difference from before was that the high school was now named Smethport Area High School .  The students continue to this day attending this high school. In 1961 a new high school building was built.  

The old high school building was converted into a school for Elementary students. There were three other elementary schools used for several years. They were Cyclone Elementary, Hazelhurst Elementary, and Farmers Valley Elementary. In addition the old elementary school in East Smethport was used as a school for kindergarten children. In 1988 a new Elementary school was opened behind the high school so the other schools were closed.

Here is a view of the new elementary school.