Fisk School, West Trenton
By Helen Kull
Last month we met Harvey Fisk, a Trenton dry-goods clerk/banker/Wall Street financier in the mid-19th century who helped to support the government during the civil war, and build America’s post-war economic landscape.
Mr. Fisk’s success, combined with his generous character, enabled him to give liberally to the area. He contributed to local churches, (including the Ewing Presbyterian Church); he supported the various mission boards of the Presbyterian Church in America; he contributed to both the Seminary and College in Princeton; and he contributed to local hospitals and charitable institutions.
After his death in 1890, his widow contributed generously towards the land and construction of Mercer Hospital in Trenton, a fact which is highlighted in a display at Capital Health-Hopewell.
Harvey Fisk married Louisa Green, the daughter of Alexander B. Green, a prominent local businessman who lived near the canal on West Upper Ferry Road.
In 1868 the Fisks built an even grander home down the road along the Delaware which they named “Riverside,” and in it raised 11 children — eight of whom survived childhood. That home still stands on the campus of Villa Victoria Academy.
But how did the elementary school in West Trenton come to bear the Fisk name? Let’s look at the history of schoolhouses in that section of Ewing.
From its settlement, through its incorporation and on to the late 19th century, Ewing was a rural community comprised largely of farms, and tiny hamlets or villages at and around crossroads. One of these villages was Birmingham, or what we call West Trenton.
Of the four one-room schoolhouses built in the mid 1800s, one was built in Birmingham (along Sullivan Way), serving the children in the hamlets of Birmingham and Greensburg (Wilburtha Road near the canal). In 1877 this school became more commonly known as the Trenton Junction Schoolhouse, because of its proximity to the “Trenton Junction” (West Trenton) railroad station.
In 1896, the recently organized Board of Education decided to replace the one-room Birmingham school with a larger (yet still one-room) building. This brick structure was built during the summer of 1896, and opened that September.
In 1908, a second room was added to accommodate additional students from the shuttered Scudder Falls School. It also began to serve the children of Altura, the suburban residential district begun in 1892 along Grand Avenue, providing “healthful” and stylish “country” homes removed from the congestion of Trenton.
But in the fall of 1915, a fire damaged the school building. A private residence temporarily housed classes while the School Board considered alternatives. The fire-damaged building was sold to a private individual, and rebuilt — and is now the Weidel Realty office opposite the train station.
Meanwhile, the School Board decided to build a new school building on land deeded and sold for $1,500 to the school board by two of Harvey Fisk’s adult children, Wilbur and Bertha (for whom Wilburtha Road is named).
Students continued attending school in the residence until the new Trenton Junction school on “Ewing Avenue” (West Upper Ferry Road) could be completed. Construction of the building was completed in June of 1916, after which the necessary furnishings and equipment were purchased and installed – all for less than $30,000.
Students began attending classes in the new school in January of 1917. By April, the School Board had named the new Trenton Junction School the “Fisk School,” recognizing the former landowners, their father Harvey Fisk, and the family’s significance to the area.
Exterior tile inscriptions over the front windows read “Education” and “Patriotism” — core values then and now. The Fisk School continued educating children — and giving to Ewing — for nearly 70 more years. Harvey would be proud.
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Looking for that special bargain? The Society’s Annual Flea Market and Flower Sale will be held at the Benjamin Temple House at 27 Federal City Road on Saturday, September 14 from 8 am – 2 pm. Contact the Society at 883-2455 or emailing info@ethps.org if you wish to have a table.
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Do you have a question, or a story to share? Contact Helen at ewingthenandnow@gmail.com
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