Port Ryerse 1794-1994
by John Cardiff

In 1993-94 I was one of many Port Ryerse residents who came together to produce a book of memories celebrating Port Ryerse's bicentennial, called Port Ryerse 1794-1994. That soft covered book is now out of print, but there is a copy available for inspection in the Archives of the Norfolk Historical Society.

A copy of the photo Steven Shinbin submitted is reproduced in that book, above a caption that identifies many of the people in the picture. That caption was our source document for identifying students in the photo above. Port Ryerse 1794-1994 was a sincere labor of love for those involved, but not particularly an exercise in historical scholarship. Consequently, we recommend assuming the individual identifications it provides tentative until confirmed by researchers such as Steven.

I spent the summers of my youth (in the early 1950s) attending recreational summer school in the photographed building. Built in 1871 of brick manufactured in Port Ryerse, it operated for 96 years before being closed in favor of newer facilities. The building was sold in 1968 and subsequently torn down to make way for a private residence. Today the school bell and headstone are part of a memorial erected in 1994 in the Port Ryerse Churchyard.

According to Port Ryerse 1794-1994, the historical record first mentions a school operating in Port Ryerse circa 1829 (over 30 years after the first settlers arrived). Norfolk County schools were reorganized in 1838, when the school at Port Ryerse was designed as serving School Section 1 of Woodhouse (students living within a radius of one mile).

As an aside, here's a bonus...
The caption for the Port Ryerse school picture for 1914-15 in Port Ryerse 1794-1994 lists those in that photo as:
teacher Miss Florence Lewis; 
Elfie Snyder; 
James, Margaret and Anges Dwyer; 
Bert, George and Isabella Morris; 
Harlem and Alma Thompson; 
Russell and Evelyn Cumins; 
Clarence Buck; 
Miss Woulton; 
John Stickney, and 
___ Cronk.