Broadkiln School served students near Milton

Students in the Cape Henlopen School district will head back to school Wednesday, Sept. 6. Many decades ago, students outside Milton attended the Broadkiln School near the intersection of Broadkill Road (Route 16) and former Route 14 (now Route 1). Several websites have the location being where the Rookery golf course is today. The school was built in 1923 and in service to students until August 1944, when schools were consolidated elsewhere. The building stood idle for 24 years and then was used by the state Board of Elections, and, subsequently, by the Milton Chamber of Commerce. Eventually, the building was demolished. According to an Aug. 6, 1924 article in The Morning News, the Broadkiln School was one of two schools for white children completed by the Delaware School Auxiliary in conjunction with the State Board of Education. The building was a one-teacher school with a capacity of 40 students. The cost of construction was $10,500. According to newspaper clips from the 1920s and 1930s, the Broadkiln School was the site of many events, including parent-teacher association meetings, comedy shows and church happenings.