Schools and poor relief

The pietist King Christian VI introduced confirmation in Norway, and from 1739, community schools were established throughout the country with religious instruction and simple reading instruction. It was common to have community schools, where teaching took place around the farms and was limited to a few weeks a year.

However, Vestfossen got a permanent community school as early as 1747, and at the Hassel ironworks in Skotselv a vocational school was established in 1757. A permanent school probably also came to Haugsund (Hokksund) during the 18th century, but the rest of Eiker still had a community school. The parish priests were responsible for the school system, and the main emphasis was placed on religious education. In public documents we see that it was still common for most people to write their name "with a pen" - they could not spell their own name.

Poor people who were unable to earn a living, usually because they were old or disabled, were paid "legd". This was part of the tax system and meant that a group of farms were jointly responsible for providing food and shelter for a poor person. During the 18th century, several decrees on the poor were passed, in 1741, 1742, 1755, 1789 and 1790. Poor committees were introduced, led by the parish priest and the sheriff, who also included the local farmers and two men appointed by the county governor. But during this period, the population also grew, and when the harvest failed, there was a famine: "People eat everything they could get their hands on: Bark bread, roots, moss porridge, etc. and they drank water for it month after month. Pine bark, roots from the ground, aspen and silje leaves were collected, dried and ground into flour. Bread was baked from this, which was fried on flat iron roofs." A rich village like Eiker also attracted many poor beggars. In 1741, the king decided that this should be prohibited and that beggars should be put to forced labor at the "Tugthuset" in Christiania.

It was not until the very end of the 18th century that priests came who were concerned with improving schools and the poor: Hans Strøm, who became parish priest in 1779, and Frederik Schmidt, who succeeded Strøm in 1797.