Published April 15, 2012
By Jane Moody
One-room country schools existed
in Adams County from the 1800s until enrollment declined and consolidation
began in 1947. The last country school closed in the 1950s.
Bluff Hall School in Fall Creek Township was the first Adams
County schoolhouse. Janet Gates Conover in the 1976 “Adams County Sketches”
wrote that Justus I. Perrigo, Adams County’s first settler in 1818, founded the
first school, a log cabin built in 1826 in Section 16. It had a huge fireplace
and slab seats, and the first teacher was Levi Wells. In 1860 the log cabin
school was replaced with the Bluff Hall stone one-room schoolhouse.
Adams County had more than 200 one-room country schoolhouses.
Most were built during the middle to late 1800s. Some were built on land
purchased by the board of trustees and others on land given by a farm family.
Warren Speckhart of Quincy attended Union School, two miles south of Ursa. The
land was given by his ancestors for a school in 1847. It closed in 1947. In
four of his six school years there, Speckhart was the only student in his
class. There were 8 to 13 students in school each year.
Schools were built about three miles apart from one another.
Students walked two miles or less from their home to school, but some had a
horse to ride. The horse would be tied in a shed during the school day. Walking
to school was hard in snow, blowing wind, and rain. Children living on farms
had chores to do before and after school such as collecting eggs, feeding
animals, milking cows, cleaning the barn, and carrying firewood to the house.
Girls helped set the table and wash dishes. Education was valued, but older
boys often missed school during the spring and fall months. In the spring they
were needed to till fields and help plant crops. In the fall boys helped with
the harvest.
Country schoolhouses had grades one through eight in one
room. Early records show an average of seven students per school. Many who
attended country schools said there could have been 13 to 35 students in
one room.
The teacher, often with two years of teacher preparation classes
or less, frequently was barely older than the students. The teacher lived at
home or with families of the students. Lesson planning for eight grade levels
took a lot of the teacher’s time as did the janitorial work: starting the fire
each morning and sweeping the floor at the close of the school day.
The teacher rang a hand bell for the students to line up. Few
schools had bell towers because they were too costly. Students filed in, hung
up their wraps, and left their lunch pails on a shelf. Lunch pails were
recycled metal tins that had contained lard or syrup. Pails were repaired if
broken and used year after year. Lunch was often sparse with portions of food
such as cornbread or biscuits, sausage or pork on homemade bread, a hardboiled
egg, an apple, or a cookie. Some children only had bread or a lard sandwich for
their lunch. Children who brought soup or a potato would put it on the stove to
warm. Clothes were homemade and hand-me-downs. Girls wore dresses, often with
an apron. Boys wore jeans or bib overalls. During warm months, many children
did not wear shoes. Shoes were saved for walking to school in winter.
Students were expected to help the teacher with chores. They
pumped water and brought the bucket inside. They carried wood or coal inside to
heat the school. One teacher paid a student a dollar a week to
arrive early and start the fire so school would be warm when the others
arrived. Each day blackboards had to be cleaned. Students took erasers outside
to dust, often resulting in an eraser fight with dust flying.
Older students helped younger ones with their lessons.
Students were expected to work diligently and quietly, unless reciting lessons
at the recitation bench or chairs at the front of the room. Students at their
desks heard the lessons. By the time younger students were in the upper grades,
they had learned the lessons. Repetition was a good teaching method.
Memorization was also used frequently. Students practiced arithmetic facts,
recited poems, and practiced spelling words.
Elson-Gray
readers were used in many schools. Gray was William S. Gray, a famous educator
born in Coatsburg who began teaching in Fowler where he became a principal. He
later taught at the University of Chicago. He was co-author of the reading
series with Sally, Dick, and Jane.
Helen Spilker, 93, of Plainville, remembers using a slate
board at her school because paper was costly. In later years she used an Indian
Chief paper tablet. Marvin Koch of Liberty and his classmates learned the
Palmer Method of penmanship and practiced making continuous circles and strokes
to form letters. Students sat up straight and practiced proper arm movement so
they would not wear out their fingers. Dip pens or lead pencils were used.
Penmanship practice was also done on the blackboard, and neat writing was
important.
Koch recalls his Union School teacher, Mildred Gamble,
saying, “Boys and girls, you’re building your character now.” She had a box
where students put notes about bad words or poor English they heard. One day
she drew out a note that said, “Oh my God” and another note, “Ain’t got no.”
The students had a long lecture that day.
Marge Shank has fond memories of Locust Grove School near
Golden. Her day began with reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance,” followed by the
teacher reading one chapter from a book. Students stood up for spelling
bees and sat down when a word was misspelled. The superintendant of
schools visited once yearly. Shank recalls students being on their best
behavior that day.
Most girls left school after eighth grade. They were needed
at home to cook, sew, and help in other ways. It was believed that additional
education was not needed for girls who would marry and be in the home.
Kenneth Flesner began first grade in 1939 at #112 Union
School, also known as Whitford and located in Clayton Township, two miles south
of Golden. As he walked to school, he saw an occasional Ford Model T or Model
A. Beyond the school day, Christmas plays, skits, musical programs planned by
the teacher, and family picnics were activities enjoyed by the families of
students at this one-room schoolhouse.
Respect for each other and the teacher was carried through at
home. If students did not have acceptable behavior at school, they would be in
greater trouble when they got home.
There are about 50 one-room schools still standing in Adams
County. Representing the four county school districts outside Quincy, they include Bluff Hall School, now restored as a residence and
located in Payson Community Unit 1 School District. Built in 1869 and owned by
the Liberty Community Historical Society, East Union School in Liberty Township
still has its blackboards and row desks and is located in Liberty Community
Unit 2 School District. Standing in the Janssen family’s farm field, Brushy
School in Honey Creek Township is located in Camp Point Community Unit 3 School
District. And, established in 1851 but built in 1885, Glenwood School in Honey
Creek Township is used for and supported by community activities and is located
in Mendon Community Unit 4 School District.
Jane Moody taught in the Quincy Public Schools for 34
years. She is a member of Country Schools Association of America, Adams County
Retired Teachers Association and the Historical Society.
Sources
Adams County Retired
Teachers Association. “Restored Country School.” ACRTA School Museum.
Mendon, IL. (Organization has moved, restored, & refurnished a schoolhouse
museum adjacent to the Adams County Fairgrounds.)
Anderson, Nancy Law.
“‘Everything old is new again,’ says former country school teacher.”
Quincy Herald-Whig, May 8, 2008.
Conover, Janet Gates.
Color Adams County IL Quincy & Townships. Quincy, IL: 1976. (Text
accompanying sketches)
Cook, Robert.
“Photographs of Adams County Country Schools Still Standing.” Quincy,
IL; 2012. (collection)
Flesner, Kenneth.
Interview by Jane Moody. (Golden – attended a one-room school, taught in a
one-room school, later taught in Unit # 3, became a principal there and Adams
County Assistant Superintendent of Schools until his retirement, and is
vice-president of the Adams County Retired Teachers Association)
Koch, Joel.
“Database of Early Adams County Country Schools.” Quincy, IL:
Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County.
Koch, Marvin. Interview
by Jane Moody. (Liberty – president of Liberty Community Historical Society and
attended four one-room schools in Adams County)
Mealiff, Rich. Interview
by Jane Moody. (Mendon – president of Glenwood Community Club)
Moody, Jane and Paul.
“Adams County Country School Display.” Quincy, IL. (Take display and
program throughout Adams County)
Plat Book of Adams
County, IL. Rockford, IL: W.W. Hixson & Co., 1924.
Shank, Marge. Interview
by Jane Moody. (Golden – attended a one-room school in Adams County)
Speckhart, Warren.
Interview by Jane Moody. (Quincy – attended a one-room school in Adams County)
Spilker, Helen.
Interview by Jane Moody. (Plainville – attended a one-room school in Adams
County)
