The committee has received various forms of recognition from the community to show their appreciation of the work that has gone into creating and completing this project!
- The Town Board of the Town of Thompson has invited the committee to provide a permanent display of photographs of the schools that were identified, documented, and commemorated by the installation of a historical sign at the location of each school. Most signs were provided by the William G Pomeroy Foundation, and the remainder were sponsored by a grant provided by the Sullivan County government. The display is found in the lobby at the entrance to the Thompson Town Court in the Town Hall. The unveiling ceremony was held on October 21, 2019.
- Sullivan County Historical Society: Our project was recognized by the Sullivan County Historical Society by presenting the “2019 History Preserver Award” to the committee at the Society’s annual banquet held at the Rockland House Restaurant on October 27, 2019.
- William G. Pomeroy Foundation: The Pomeroy Foundation, who provided the funding for most of the installations, recognized committeeman Paul Lounsbury for his efforts in WGP’s “Snap That Sign” photography program which encouraged participants to obtain photographs of historical signs that had been funded by WGP, but still were lacking photos of each. Paul was the recipient of a commemorative “WGP pin.”
Paul poses with his pin at the historical marker of the Columbia Hill One Room School that involved four generations of Lounsburys since its founding in 1838. His father and grandfather and their siblings attended the school in their day. Lounsbury family members served as trustees, clerks, librarians, and teachers during the 103 years of the school’s operation. Paul’s grandfather, Daniel, who was the final trustee , had saved all of the school’s business records beginning in 1838 to 1941, which were passed down to Paul’s father, and then to Paul upon his father’s passing in 2013.
