Schoolhouse added to Railroad Era Rehoboth miniature village

Rehoboth’s first one-room schoolhouse was built in 1884, located in what was then the woods at the outskirts of town. Today the Royal Farms at the traffic circle occupies that location.

Paul Lovett has added a model of the schoolhouse to the 1910 Rehoboth Avenue miniature village diorama.

The model on the diorama is sponsored by Cory Rose, whose great-great-grandmother Myrtle Joseph is among the student body pictured in the 1903 schoolhouse photo.

That one-room school served Rehoboth for nearly 25 years until the town fathers gathered to consider building a new school, with the meeting held in that original schoolhouse. So the story goes, there was not much support at first. But then, one of the men was afflicted with “cramps in the legs,” caused by sitting at one of the old-fashioned desks, and plaster fell on the heads of the attendees. That was the last straw. A motion for erection of a new building was approved. The new brick schoolhouse was dedicated in 1908 at the location where Rehoboth Beach City Hall now stands. One of the town matriarchs, Kitty Cole, attended that brick school in the 1930s.

The diorama is a multi-year project to replicate Rehoboth Avenue during its railroad era, which lasted 85 years. The miniature village is on display in the Rehoboth Beach Main Street office building next to the Rehoboth Beach Museum. To learn about the project, go to goldenageofrehoboth.com.

By appointment, Lovett hosts informal gatherings with the diorama at 9:30 a.m., Mondays, with each meeting focusing on a unique aspect of Rehoboth history. All are welcome to bring coffee and join the conversation. To reserve a space, email Paul Lovett at paul@pdlovett.com or call 302-893-9391.