382 HIS TON V OF con A SSE T. 



voted that ".every Child that cometh to the Reading and 

 Writing School till wood is wanted, shall bring to s'^ 

 School a foot of Wood or one shilling & sixpence in 

 money to the School-master to purchase Wood ; and that 

 the School-master take a list of the names of those children 

 that come to School as aforesd and return their names 

 and to whom they belong to the Assessors that shall be 

 chosen the next March meeting, and the Assessors when 

 they make the District rate, add to the s"^ rate what those 

 persons are behind towards wood, and for want of wood 

 the Commity draw money out of the treasury to pur- 

 chase it." 



The next year, 1771, one more school district was set 

 off with its proportion of money according to taxes paid. 

 This additional district was the community along South 

 Main Street from Lincoln's Mill at Scituate down as far 

 as our Cove, excepting Thomas Stephenson and Abel 

 Kent. 



But this arrangement was not satisfactory ; so the next 

 year, 1772, they were rejoined to the Center, and the 

 school was kept for one half of the time at the school- 

 house, one quarter of the time "at or near Joseph Will- 

 cutt's," and the remaining quarter " at or near John 

 Stephenson's." 



At the year 1773-74 the point of ^35 appropriation 

 for schools was reached, while the pastor's was about 

 ^88 ; and it was not until many years passed that the 

 town support of schools equaled her support of the church. 



In 1774 the first reference to a school bell is made, 

 when the town consented to have one put upon the Center 

 schoolhouse "provided it be done without charge." 



The roving school was not yet obsolete, for the people 

 in King Street now demanded their share of the time for 

 the Center school to be kept among them. In the year 

 1776 while some of the men were away to war this was 

 granted — the first public school in King Street. 



