Bear Hill School

Originally built and situated a few miles south of Jennings, MD in 1913, the structure served as a school until 1952.

After that date, it served various church-related functions. In 1994, the owners, Robert and Shirley Hay, donated it to Spruce Forest Artisan Village. Moved in the wee hours of the morning on a flat bed truck taking up both lanes of the highway to Grantsville, the schoolhouse was relocated to the Artisan Village .

Bear Hill School was typical for its time, a one-room school, serving the nearby families. It was known as a rough place in the early 1900s. Tales of teachers wielding fireplace pokers or pitching wooden erasers to discipline “rowdies” may not be legend. Bullet holes in the blackboard suggest that classroom violence is not unique to our often confusing times.

Resident Artist: Gene Gillespie, wood worker.