A school and Lorenzo were a logical pairing. John Lincklaen established a school in his new Village of Cazenovia in 1796. “An Act for the Establishment of Common Schools” passed by the New York State Legislature in 1812 called for each town to be divided into school districts. The Town of Cazenovia initially was divided into fifteen districts, eventually growing to twenty-two. Members of the Lincklaen/Ledyard family were active benefactors of the Rippleton Schoolhouse. Mrs. Ledyard Lincklaen and her brother-in-law, Lamburtus Wolters Ledyard, were trustees of District No. 7. Ledyard was instrumental in adding land to the school property and making major improvements to the building. He donated numerous items to the school, including books, and sponsored many picnics for the teachers, students and their families. The school was in continuous use until 1931 when Cazenovia opened a new central school. During the intervening 65 years, the building’s uses ranged from a hen house to a woodworking studio to a residence.

Concerted research, documentation and analysis have led to restoration of the Rippleton Schoolhouse to the 1880s period, which coincides with the Fairchild era at Lorenzo. Noteworthy features of this period include board and batten siding, a Queen Anne dormer with stained glass windows, bronze powder wallpaper and acetylene gas lighting. The restored facility offers school-age children an authentic setting to attend a one-room school as it would have been led in the late 19th century by Miss Mattie Buckland, the Rippleton “schoolmarm” from 1885 to 1887. Schoolhouse No. 7 is also available by special appointment for educational programs for “children of all ages. ”