The photo above, showing the Korns school for the 1953-54 school year, was reproduced from volume one of the 2005 book "A Look At Southampton Township Pennsylvania The Way It Used To Be!", with permission of Mona Huffman.
This 1955 photo (above) shows the Korns school, which was located at the bottom of the incredibly steep "Schoolhouse Hill" road (since modified) on the Allen Korns farm in Southampton Township, Somerset County. The car is probably the blue 1949 Ford of Allen Korns. All that is left of the school now (in 2008) is the steps, which have been moved from the original location.
Once when I was a kid I was driving up the Schoolhouse Hill in an old dump truck full of grain when the truck ran out of gas. The hill was so steep that I couldn't leave the truck or else it would roll backwards, so I had to sit there with my foot clamped on the brakes until someone noticed me and came to help (boy did that leg ache after awhile). The grade of the hill has since been modified to make it less dangerous.
Below are two additional photos of the Korns School, date unknown. If I remember correctly, I was told that these three photocopies of photos were copied from a notebook at the Somerset Historical Society (I don't remember who sent the photocopies to me). The 2007 book "A Look at Southampton Township Pennsylvania" Volume II by Roger and Mona Huffman, states that John Kennel owned the 1955 Dodge school bus that is shown in one of the pictures, and indicates that the bus was used to take students to the Korns School and the Kennel's Mills School, and then later was used to take students to the Wellersburg School. Click here to see a 1915 map that shows the location of the Korns School.
The image below is from the 1876 Beers "Atlas of Somerset County, Penn." It shows the location of the Korns School on the farm of Daniel Korns, Jr., and proves that the school was already in use in 1876. Click here to see a May 4, 1939 aerial photo of the Korns School.
Page 6 of Roger and Mona Huffman's 2007 book "A Look At Southampton Township Pennsylvania", Volume II indicates that Miss Margaret Miller (who later became Mrs. J. Elmer Lepley) began teaching at the Korns school on September 13, 1909. The information was credited to clippings collected by Charles Burkett and Stella (Emerick) Shroyer. Page 42 of the same book indicates that Lewis H. Korns, the son of Emanuel and Katherine (Comp) Korns was a teacher at the Korns School in the early 1900's, and earned $22.00 per month.
The following image shows a 1904 Souvenir from the Korns School that was reproduced from volume two of the 2007 book "A Look At Southampton Township Pennsylvania The Way It Used To Be!", with the permission of Mona Huffman. Page 47 of the book indicates that in 1904 Carrie C. Shirey was the teacher, and shows that her picture was included on the 1904 school souvenir roster. John, Earl and Nevin Korns are listed on the 1904 roster as students. Emanuel Korns and and Peter Petenbrink are listed as members of the school board.
The following photo is reproduced from volume one of the 2005 book "A Look At Southampton Township Pennsylvania The Way It Used To Be!", with permission of Mona Huffman. It shows the Korns School, Class of 1906-07, including students Nevin Korns, Mahlon Korns, and John Korns.
The following photo is from Gladys (Bittner) Korns' photo album, and shows the class of 1923-24. The John Wilson Korns farmhouse can be seen in the background, Gladys can be seen at the left of the picture. This same photo appears in the 2005 book "A look at Southampton Township Pennsylvania the way it used to be!"; according to that book, the children are: (first row) Bill Lepley, Evelyn Korns, Hazel Smith, Cora Kennell, Edna Kennell, (second row) Robert Lepley, Lucretia Korns, Mildred Kennell, Nellie Emerick.
The following images show the front and back of a photo of the Korns School class of 1939-40 from the photo album of Allen and Gladys Korns of Southampton Township, Somerset County, PA. The Korns School was on their farm.
The first image below is a 1941 photograph of students at the Korns School in Southampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The second image shows the names that are written on the back of the photo.
The images were provided by Jane (Stevanus) Brocht on November 29, 2023. She is in the second row, third from the right, and was in first grade when the photo was taken. Jane wrote the following to me: "I started school at the Korns school for 2 years, 3rd grade in Wellersburg then thru to 8th grade then started at Meyersdale till graduated in 1953." She also wrote, "I lived at Korns from 1941- 1943 then we lived at my Grandparents Everline near Wellersburg for 1 year then we moved to the Johnny Kennell place, where John Troutman lives now. There was a big stone house there that we lived in. Then daddy bought the place on Glencoe Rd, where my youngest sister Mary lives now." The words "at Korns" are a reference to the farm of Allen and Gladys (Bittner) Korns, where the school was located.
In the back row I (L. Dietle) recognize my uncle Luther Korns, who is standing third from the left. In the second row, I recognize my mother Estalene (Korns) Dietle, who is seated second from the left.
The following photo shows children at the Korns School. From left to right, the children are Albert, Pearl, Robert, Viola and Jennie Kennel, and Nevin Korns, son of John Wilson Korns. According to his tombstone, Nevin Korns was born in 1890. Based on Nevin's small size in the photo, I suspect the photo was taken before 1900. At the time the photo was taken, this farm belonged to John Wilson Korns. His house can be seen in the background, just above the top fence rail, up on the hill. The photo was reproduced from volume two of the 2007 book "A Look At Southampton Township Pennsylvania The Way It Used To Be!", with permission of Mona Huffman.
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