The Hoffman School was located north of the St. Peter (Hoffman) Reformed Church Cemetery, along the Crossroads, in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. A brick building was built around 1879 as the first independent structure used exclusively for education at this general location. Prior to that, church buildings and private homes were used for education, a history of which goes back to about 1805. The name “Hoffman School” refers to education at this general place in the township, rather than government-required free education which did not begin until after 1834. The school here closed in 1946 and pupils were transferred to the Shepley School in the township.
The photograph shown above was taken in the early 21st Century, about 60 years after the school ceased to exist. and after it had been converted to and used as a private home.
Little is known about the early teachers at this place, except the first teacher who also served as a minister to the Reformed congregation known as Hoffman’s Church. It is hoped that by presenting a list of known teachers, that blog readers will help to identify the teachers who are missing, will confirm the names of teachers who are identified for particular years, and will provide some of the missing photographs. As of this writing, only six class photos are posted from this school.
1805-1832. Rev. Carl Edward Muench.
1832-1839. Not known.
1840. Jacob Schaffner.
1841-1884. Not known.
1885. M. H. Zerfing.
1886. I. N. Henninger.
1887. Henry Willier (resided in Pillow, Dauphin County).
1888. Not known.
1889. Jacob E. Boyer.
1890. F. P. Ferree.
1891. H. W. Williard.
1892-1894. Not known.
1895. I. E. Runk.
1896-1897. Edward A. Riegle, my great-grand uncle. He may have been the first Normal School graduate to teach at the Hoffman School. It is possible that he taught here for several more years when the teacher is “not known.” In 1895 he taught at the Geise School in Lykens Township.
1898. John Harman.
1899-1901. Charles M. Dockey.
1902. Thomas Knecht Jr.
1903-1904. Jacob Koppenhaver.
1905-1906. Jacob Boyer.
1907-1910. Daniel Koppenhaver.
1911. Harry C. Buffington.
1912. Not known. [Note: A photograph exists with Charles Henninger identified as the teacher; see also below 1915].
1913. Not known.
1914. Clayton Willier.
1915. Charles Henninger.
1916-1917. Harry Klinger.
1918-1920. Not known.
1921. Russell Crabb.
1922-1923. Effie Lubold. [Note: See also below, 1927 and 1929].
1924-1926. Harry C. Klinger. [Note: 1925 has not been confirmed].
1927. Effie Lubold. [Note: See also below, 1929].
1928. Not known.
1929. Effie Lubold.
1930-1931. Katherine Grell. [Note: 1930 has not been confirmed. See also below, 1934-1935].
1932. Not known.
1933. Edna Hoffman. [Note: See also below, 1935-1936].
1934-1935. Katherine Grell.
1936-1937. Edna Hoffman.
1938-1940. Winifred Koppenhaver. [Note: See also below, 1944-1945].
1941-1943. Pearl Miller.
1943-1945. Winifred Koppenhaver.
Help is requested from readers to fill in the missing years and make corrections and annotations. Please add information as comments to this blog post.
Also, Hoffman School pictures are sought for those years where they have not been posted here. Scans should be sent as e-mail attachments with permission to post on this site. If possible, please identify the year of the picture and any known persons.