On the east side of Main Street in Milton, Queens County is a property which was the site of Milton's earliest public school house. In 1825, John Ford deeded the property to a group of citizens to build a school. The original lot size was 26 feet wide by 22 feet deep.

The school had 42 shareholders, practically all homeowners of the village at the time. It is believed that this school served the public until the Old Zion Church became available. This was after Boehner and Hammond had built the Milton Christian Church in 1864. Later a new and more ambitious Milton Academy was constructed.

It is thought that old schoolhouse, once it was vacated, was moved back from Main Street and extended. The area where the building had rested was then used to store barrels and boxes, as well as raw materials for the cooperage (barrel manufacturer). Mr. Wallace Hartlen of Milton last operated the business in the late 1920s. He later built a new plant on West Street in Milton. Old photographs show his building, apparently an older building extended, with a clear division in the roof shingles where the joint was made. It is thought that the older portion shown in the photo is the original schoolhouse.

The property was used as a wood chip disposal site for sawmill refuse. In the 1930s, the property was used as a garden. The buildings were removed many years ago, possible in the 1940s. The property has been used by many walks of life over the last 200 years, and likely conceals a variety of relics from those years.