Civil War Reenactors at KHS

May 31 - June 1 on the fields at the Kinnelon High School. For more information visit www.kinnelonlibrary.org/kids.html.

To help raise money for the museum, the Friends of the Kinnelon Museum are also selling prints of Civil War battles, available at L'Ecole for $10.

Kinnelon Note Card Fundraiser

Six Kinnelon landmarks as drawn by a local artist, including the Silas Condict Casino, the Fredricks House, the Smoke Rise East Gate, the Kinnelon Municipal Building, the Glenn L. Sisco School, and L'Ecole.

Available at the Kinnelon Library or L'Ecole for $10.

The home of the Kinnelon Museum was built in 1873 as a larger, more modern replacement for the first Meadtown School. Its single room held 40-50 students until 1923, when the Kiel School was constructed.

Around 1928, the little schoolhouse caught the eye of a young medical intern from New York City. Dr. Helen Miller. Dr. Miller affectionately called it "L'Ecole" (the French word for "school"). At first, she visited L'Ecole as a summer retreat from her busy practice and clinical work in New York City. By the late 1930's, Dr. Miller's visits became more frequent, and she began additions that would turn L'Ecole into her primary residence.

Local crafts people contributed their talents to the construction. A magnificent stone fireplace was built by Mr. Dan Cahill. During these years, Dr. Miller also added a more modern kitchen and bathroom and had a wonderful porch which overlooked the Ramapo Mountains to the north.

As local residents got to know and respect Dr. Miller, many came to her with their medical problems. She was now convinced the time had come to base her medical practice as well as her home in Kinnelon.

In 1954, Dr. Miller added two operatories and an office to her home at L'Ecole to keep up with her growing practice and the needs of her patients. In 1967, a medical center was completed next door to L'Ecole to encourage other physicians to practice in the area.

Upon her death in 1990, Dr. Miller bequeathed her property to Kinnelon's Mayor and Council, requesting that L'Ecole be "dedicated as a museum for the preservation and display of memorabilia and other items of historical significance to the Borough." It was Dr. Miller's wish that this museum would benefit the community that had come to mean so much to her.

From pupils to patients, L'Ecole has ministered to the needs of local citizens for well over a century. As the new century approaches, L'Ecole continues to serve the community as a museum dedicated to chronicling and celebrating our local history and traditions.