Schools

Sayre's first school was located in a corner of what is now the Rest Cemetery on Bradford Street. The land was given by John Shepard for the purpose of a school. It was built in the late seventeen hundreds and was constructed of logs. The school was destroyed by fire in 1808 and unfortunately, the exact location of the building is not known.

Although Sayre Area Schools now has the high school building on W. Lockhart Street and the H. Austin Synder Elementary School on N. Keystone Avenue, the town once boasted no less than six schools.

The Elmer Avenue School, once located on the corner of N. Elmer Avenue and Mohawk Street, was built in 1886. It started out as a two-room school, then was expanded to four rooms, and expanded once more to eight rooms.

The East Side School was also originally two rooms, being built in 1893. Two rooms were added to the building. In addition, two portable buildings were also erected on the ground when the attendance increased. Each of the portable buildings had two school rooms.

The West Sayre School Building was also known as the College Hill Building. It was built about 1890. It was and is located on College Hill, just off South Keystone Avenue. The school was closed at one time, and then was reopened to accommodate an increase in attendance.

The original Milltown school was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt on Cayuta Street in 1926.

The building known as the Fourth Ward School had eight rooms and was built in 1905 on the corner of Miller and Maple Streets. After the Fourth Ward School was built, the over-crowded College Hill School was closed.

Sayre High School was built on W. Lockhart Street at a cost of $30,000. Its first graduates were in 1887. In the last 20 years of its service until 1929, it became known as Central Elementary School.