What is "union school"

The Union School is a historic building located at 516-518 Bethlehem Pike in the Fort Washington section of Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Built in 1773, the Union School was one of the very earliest public schools in Pennsylvania, and the first that did not discriminate based on social position or religious preference. The building is sometimes referred to as the "cradle of free education." It was one of the earliest public school in Pennsylvania.

As part of his will, local Quaker businessman Samuel Morris stipulated that a sum of money from his estate be set for the building of a school and a teacher's salary. The school was to provide for free education for all within a 1½-mile radius of Hope Lodge, his country mansion. After Morris' death in 1770, his brother Joshua had the school built.

The original section was built in 1773, and is a 2 1/2-story building measuring 23 feet wide by 48 feet long. The school and attached schoolmaster's house are constructed of fieldstone portions of which are covered in painted stucco.

In 1792, the Union School was incorporated as the Union School in Whitemarsh. The school was in continuous use from 1773 until 1936, except for a brief period in 1873 when it served as a lyceum. The trust fund established by Samuel Morris remains in existence today, supporting education in the townships of Whitpain, Whitemarsh and Upper Dublin in Pennsylvania.

The Union School has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1980.

Today, the Union School building is a privately owned residence. However, the museum of the Fort Washington Historical Society in the Clifton House contains a replica of the school room.

The Union School is a historic former school building on Mt. Ephraim Road in Searsport, Maine. Built in 1866, it is one of the town's prominent former public buildings, and an important surviving school commission of architect George M. Harding. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It is been converted into apartments.

Union School or Old Union School or variations may refer to:

• Union School Haiti

• Old Union School (Birdell, Arkansas), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)
• Geyserville Union School (Geyserville, California), NRHP-listed
• Union School (West Haven, Connecticut), NRHP-listed
• Union School (Filer, Idaho), NRHP-listed
• Burns Union School, Burns, Kansas, NRHP-listed
• Union School (Searsport, Maine), NRHP-listed
• Douglas Union School, Douglas, Michigan, NRHP-listed
• Union School (St. Johns, Michigan), NRHP-listed
• Newton Union Schoolhouse (Camden, New Jersey), NRHP-listed
• Union Schoolhouse, Red Bank, New Jersey, NRHP-listed
• East Otto Union School, East Otto, New York, NRHP-listed
• East Springfield Union School, East Springfield, New York, NRHP-listed
• Old Union School (Chesterville, Ohio), NRHP-listed
• Old Union School (Coshocton, Ohio), NRHP-listed
• West Union School, Norwich, Ohio, NRHP-listed
• Union School (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania), NRHP-listed
• Dillingersville Union School and Church, Zionsville, Pennsylvania, NRHP-listed
• First Union School (Crozier, Virginia), NRHP-listed
• Second Union School, Goochland, Virginia, NRHP-listed

The Union School is a historic school building at 174 Center St. in West Haven, Connecticut. It was designed by architect Leoni W. Robinson and built in 1890, when the area was still part of Orange. It is a two-story brick building with terra cotta and red sandstone trim, and a hip roof. An addition was added to the rear in 1914. It has been converted to senior housing.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The Union School in Filer, Idaho was built in 1914. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

The Union School, also known a Central Elementary School, was an educational building located at 205 West Baldwin Street in St. Johns, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The school building has been replaced by a housing development.