The Darlington Schoolhouse

Above is a photograpgh of the Darlington Schoolhouse on Ramapo Valley Road before it fell into ruin and was refurbished by the Trail Conference

The Darlington Schoolhouse was built in the year 1891 as a gift from Theodore Havemeyer and Alfred B. Darling as a gift to the town.  Both Havemeyer and Darling both had become successful farmers in the area and lived off Ramapo Valley Road.  The Darlington Schoolhouse was built immediately following the completion of the Birch Mansion and was designed by Dudley Newton who had already worked for the family.  Darlington Schoolhouse continued to hold classes for young students until the 1940’s.  After its days of being a traditional classroom ended, the building housed both a dance academy and a carpentry shop.  Then for almost 40 years the school house remained empty and unused.  Then the Township of Mahwah and the Trail Conference began to collect funds in order to purchase the now historic landmark, in hopes of restoring and renovating the building to be used as the new headquarters for the Trail Conference.  The Trail Conference and the Township of Mahwah finally purchased the building in 2007 and began working to renovate the old school house.  Renovations began in two separate but important phases.  In phase 1, work was done to ensure structural stability, to add utilities and climate control.  This part was completed in 2012.  In phase 2 of the renovation and revitalization of Darlington Schoolhouse the interior of the building was completely redone and a two-story addition that was about 3700 square-feet.  This incredibly large project was completed on March of 2015 and the new headquarters’ doors were officially opened on March 25, 2015 an has continued to be updated to this day.

Theodore Havemeyer’s investment in this schoolhouse greatly affected the community.  For years it was used to educate the children that lived close to Ramapo Valley Road and his farm.  Many of the worker’s children attended this school which may have also been an underlying reason for his investment.  Once the school house was deeded to the town’s school district children from around the area were able to attend a school that was built in a safe and beautiful building.