Noe School

Contributed by Patricia Wells, Chatham Township Historical Society

Between 1900 and 1910 the population of Chatham Township increased from 620 to 812 persons. A number of the new residents were employed by Noe Farm, which had expanded its greenhouse ranges and established a large dairy. Some of these employees rented homes on the farm and sent their children to Mt. Vernon School (the Red Brick Schoolhouse). This resulted in overcrowding. In April 1910 a special school ballot determined that another school was needed. Four acres of land were purchased on Southern Boulevard where Chatham Hills Care Home now stands, and construction started.

The building was 40’ x 40’, with one classroom and two cloak rooms. It was unusual in that its large windows were all on the south side which unfortunately limited ventilation and light on the north side of the classroom. However, the school had central heating and running water, making it the most modern of the township’s schools.

Chatham Township Public School #3, sometimes called Noe School, opened for the fall session in 1910. Most of the students came from Noe Farm, and several from the Hickory Tree area. All the students walked to school regardless of the weather. One teacher taught grades 1 through 5, usually 25 to 30 children. Students in grades 6 and above went to Madison schools.

In October 1911 the Union Sunday School of South Madison was established and began meeting in the school. Schools in this period often hosted Sunday schools. Although all of Noe Farm was located in Chatham Township, the businesses used a Madison address and the residents shopped in Madison. So many saw themselves as citizens of both towns, hence the “South Madison” name. The non-denomination Sunday School provided Bible study classes for children, women and men. At the time there were no churches in Chatham Township, although Green Village Methodist Church sat just over the town line. By the end of 1916, the Sunday School classes had all moved to the Noe Farm Neighborhood House on Noe Avenue.

In 1982 the Chatham Township Historical Society recorded an oral history with Marion Turner, who taught at Noe School from 1922 to 1924. Marion lived in Basking Ridge but did not drive, so she took a train to Summit and then switched to the Madison line. One of Mr. Noe’s delivery trucks would pick her up at the station and get her to the school by 9 AM. She usually walked to the station in the afternoon as she said she enjoyed it. She was paid $1500 per year (equivalent to $22,800 today).

In 1929 Chatham Township School, now called Southern Boulevard School, opened and the three remaining country schools closed. Noe School was sold to the DeLoughy Family, whose children had attended school there. Old Mrs. DeLoughy monitored the use of the Noe Pond swimming hole in the summer and was rather unpopular with the children.

The DeLoughy Family sold the property in 1968 to the developer who built King James Nursing Home (now Chatham Hills Care Home). The school building was torn down and now only exists in old photographs.