Blackbird School (District No. 69)

The passage of the Public School Law of 1829 brought free public education to Delaware and divided the state into many small districts overseen by county superintendents. Blackbird District No. 69 was first noted in the record of an Annual Meeting on October 3, 1835. The first schoolhouse was a log building which measured 18 x 20 feet and belonged to William Weldon, later appointed Secretary and Clerk of the school district in 1835. When the district was split circa 1860, a new schoolhouse was built. Eventually, a third school for Blackbird District No. 69 was built about 1892 east of King’s Road near the village of Blackbird. To accommodate the expansion of Route 13 in this area, the school was moved to property belonging to William Fortner located on the west side of King’s Road. This transaction was facilitated in part through a 1932 deed between Fortner and the State Board of Education. A rear coal shed, as well as a front vestibule and steps were added to the school after its relocation. When Blackbird School No. 69 closed in 1945, students were sent to school in nearby Townsend. The former school building and grounds were donated by Mrs. William Fortner to the Blackbird Community Center, which was organized in 1950.