This exhibit in the 1826 Downtown District Schoolhouse, curated by Dr. Daryn Reyman-Lock and designed by Scott Kuykendall, highlights the early history of education in Norwalk using old photographs, original documents and period textbooks.

In Norwalk’s early years, schools were built, maintained, removed and rebuilt; districts were formed, joined, abolished and rethought. Despite this, standardization of textbooks and curriculum did not exist. In the 1830s, the great educators like Henry Barnard started to reform every aspect of education, stretching even into the school architecture itself. Learn how Barnard’s school reform affected Norwalk.