I found this photograph at an antiques shop in West Townsend, Massachusetts. The owner had written “Thomaston, Maine, 1912” on a note accompanying the photo, but the photo itself has no information on it.
Children in schoolroom in Thomaston, Maine
Portraits from the first 100 years of photography
I found this photograph at an antiques shop in West Townsend, Massachusetts. The owner had written “Thomaston, Maine, 1912” on a note accompanying the photo, but the photo itself has no information on it.
Tokens of Companionship 
This is FANTASTIC! What a great image, and how technically well-done–the focus, the whole room, all the students looking so intently and seriously at the camera, with their hands so rigidly clasped, in most cases! I love their faces. I am fascinated that there are black children in the schoolroom, but it’s a shame that they are at the back. I hope that they are back there because they and the other children standing at the back are really the occupants of the seats on the right in the photo! This is one of my very favorites you’ve posted so far.
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Thank you, Carol! I love it, too. Classroom photos must have been technically challenging in those days–finding the best angle and getting the light and focus right for the whole room. And the children’s faces are wonderful. I hope to learn about Thomaston in this time period and find some clues as to the identities of these children.
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Great photo and I agree with everything Carol Wood has said (though one of the black children is sitting in the second row from the front, so they’re not all at the back! 🙂 )
Could it have been this school? http://www.heirloomsreunited.com/2010/10/c-1900-grammar-school-photograph-of.html The photo in the linked post is from 1900 so it would have been a different class, but if it looks like the same building, you could maybe take it from there?
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Interesting! I’m sure someone in Thomaston knows about schools of that period. I emailed Thomaston Historical Society before posting this photo, but never heard from them. Someone there may see this page eventually and contribute some information (please!).
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