Included in the agreement was a conveyance of rights to the Federal School and access to the same to the Township of Haverford. Lack of community support for a middle school led to the sale of the Allgates property for development. The Optimists of Havertown restored the interior of the old school as a 1976 Bicentennial project, with the Haverford Township Historical Society acting as advisors. The Haverford Township School District purchased Lloyd’s Allgates estate, including the land on which the Federal School stands, in 1967 for a middle school site.
Later occupied as a residence for some time, the Federal School was used for storage after the property was purchased by Horatio Gates Lloyd. The Federal School served the community for 75 years. “Seminary” in this instance means a place of learning, rather than a religious institution. The frontispiece reads “Haverford Seminary No. In 1849 a small porch was added to the 1797 building. George Smith, son of trustee Benjamin Hayes Smith, was chairman of the Senate Committee of Education at that time. It was not until 1834 that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania passed the Public School Law, requiring communities to provide free public education to all children. It was most probably a subscription school with tuition paid in cash, produce or perhaps by boarding the teacher. Except for the deed, no records from the school have been discovered. This is the oldest extant building in Delaware County erected specifically as a schoolhouse. The one-room stone building was named the Federal School, indicating the pride of the townspeople in being part of the recently federated United States. Payment for the land was made by five trustees: Philip Sheaff, William Brook, Francis Lee, David Lyons and Benjamin Hayes Smith “for the purpose of erecting a school thereon for the use of said Township of Haverford.” Alexander Symington received 5 shillings for an irregularly shaped building lot of one-quarter of an acre and three perches near the intersection of present-day Darby and Coopertown roads. The first record of the purchase of land for a school in Haverford Township was October 29, 1797.
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