With last week's issue of the Farmingdale Observer, we begin a series on local history: The Way It Was. Most weeks this will consist of a captioned photo, and we'll also be presenting historical information. The photographs are from the archives collection of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society. Bill Johnston, historian of the Village of Farmingdale, will provide the information.

Back to school for Farmingdale students in the late 19th century meant a return to this frame structure on Main Street erected in 1874. In 1911 this building was razed to make way for a new brick school, later known as the south of Main Street School. The school shown housed grades one through eight. The high school program was begun in its successor in 1913.