Rooted in the Free School Act of 1829, the Octagonal Schoolhouse, built in 1836, served as the District No. 12 school in Kent County until its closure in 1930, when it became a community center. The building was constructed of undressed stone, stuccoed and whitewashed, with eight sides of equal dimension and a pyramidal shingled roof. Children sat in desks placed in two circles, back to back, the outer one for the boys and the inner one for the girls, with the school master seated in the center. The building was acquired by the State of Delaware in 1967 and in 1971 was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.