District #7 - Linden

Linden, located in a most picturesque setting on the banks of the Little Tonawanda Creek, was the first village of importance in the town of Bethany...at one time, it had wagon shops, three stores, and a blacksmith shop. It also had a cider mill, an ashery, and a postoffice. It also supported a resident medical doctor, but sad to say, it never had church privileges. District School No. 7, on the eastern outskirts of the hamlet, was erected in 1876. The taxes, paid by the Erie Railroad for its property through the district, helped to ease the tax burden of the patrons of the district. The school enrollment was never large in this Linden district, but things progressed peacefully until 1924 when the terrifying triple Linden murder occurred. The terrible fears of the residents took a real toll on the pupils of District 7. Some of the relatives of the murdered people attended the school. Parents denied the children parties, suspended music lessons, and generally the children were to be pitied for several years.
In this school district were two of the Genesee county's famous tree-trimming twins, Willis and William Kimbal by name. They attended No. 7 in the middle 1800's.