Dayton’s Corners School was built in 1857 to replace an earlier frame structure to serve the students of District #9. The name comes from the Dayton family that had an orchard, an apple dry house, and a general store in that area.
Children that attended this one-room schoolhouse came from both Penfield and Webster. The school is in Penfield but became a part of the Webster School District when the schools centralized in the mid-twentieth century. Overflow classes from Webster continued to be held in the building into the 1960s.
Interest in preserving the building escalated during the Town of Penfield’s 175th Anniversary observance in 1985. The schoolhouse was restored and refurbished as a one-room schoolhouse, complete with furnishings and teaching materials. Today it serves as a living history museum, where 4th-grade students come to spend the day in 1857.
Dayton’s Corners School was designated as a landmark in the Town of Penfield in 1983.