There have been schools up on Wallens Hill, the twelfth school district, since about 1800.  The 1857 county map shows a school on what today is Old North Road, right at the town line, but the 1874 town map does not show a school.  This neighborhood was part of what was called a Union District that straddled the line between Barkhamsted and Winchester.  It may be noted that the name Winsted, comes from the first syllable of Winchester and last syllable of Barkhamsted. There was a school on the Barkhamsted side in 1857, but for much of the 19th century, the kids went to a different school just over the line in Winsted.  It was an on-again off-again relationship.  In 1909 when the town assumed responsibility for public education, Barkhamsted built a new school on Old North Road just this side of the line. This school remained in use until 1928 when the kids went back to the school on the Winsted side for a few years before finally being transferred to the Riverton School.