Before centralizations, the Norfolk district school system included 11 grammar schools, each managed by a local school committee. Schoolhouses were simple one-room structures with a wood stove provoking heat. The North Middle School still stands at the corner of Ashpohtag and Bald Mountain Roads. The district schools served a varying number of children, and teachers were usually boarded in neighboring homes. One particularly notable Norfolk student who began her education at a Norfolk district school, Zilpah Polly Grant Banister was a pioneer in the education of women. She established two female academies and was an influential mentor to Mary Lyon who founded the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, later Mount Holyoke College.

Ann Havemeyer