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LOCATION: The
Locust School is located in Winneshiek County, Pleasant Township, on
County Highway W38, 10 miles northeast of Decorah at the intersection
of County Highway A26.
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HOURS: The school
is open to visitors on weekends Memorial Day through Labor Day, 1:00
p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Open to groups by appointment.
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RESERVATIONS: No
reservations are required during the week for a walking tour of the
grounds and outside of the building. Tours of the building must
be made in advance by contacting The Winneshiek County Historical
Society, Mr. George Pfister, 305 Mound St., Decorah, Iowa 52101.
Phone: (319) 382-3421.
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GROUP SIZE AND AGE:
No limit
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COST: An admission fee of
fifty cents for children and $1 for adults is charged. A group
price may be available.
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To explore the physical
structure of a one-room schoolhouse.
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To examine the
traditional classroom environment of a one-room school.
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To understand the
culture of a rural one-room school from the 1850s to the 1950s.
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What were the
components and structure of the rural schools in Iowa through the
1800's and early 1900's?
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What were the physical
elements found within the one-room schoolhouse? (stove, water bucket,
chalkboard, seats and desks bolted to the floor, etc.)
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What similarities and
differences exist between Iowa schools of the late 1800s and schools
today?
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What modern day
conveniences are found in schools today that did not exist in the
1800s?
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How would a student
school day in the 1800s differ from a school day today?
Locust school was in continuous operation
for one hundred and six years. Reportedly this is an Iowa record
for a school building on its original site.
The school was built in 1854, six years
after the Winnebago Indians ceased occupation of the neutral ground.
The village of Locust had been surveyed and settled two or three years
earlier.
Several years before the school was built,
settlers John Klontz and William Vale pitched their tents in the
northwest corner of Pleasant Township in Winneshiek County. For
his homestead, Vale choose an area that later became known as the Locust
Lane Farm. It derived its name from the locust trees planted on
each side of the road leading to his farm. John Klontz settled
south of William Vale.
As area settlement developed, the need for
a school building was apparent. William Vale, therefore, donated the
land on which a school was to be constructed. Meanwhile, these
settlers, easterners from Pennsylvania, believed that only stone or
brick would reflect the value they placed on education and guarantee the
building's permanence, so John Klontz provided the limestone used to
build it. Other local settlers contributed money and labor
necessary for building construction.
Frank Lammon became the first teacher.
During its existence, the school also served as a church for every
congregation in the area.
The Locust School was the only school
north of Decorah until 1856 when other one-room schools were built in
the area. Until that time, it served all of Pleasant, Highland,
Canoe and Burr Oak Townships. While it was situated so that all
early settlers' children could attend, some children endured significant
hardships by having to walk great distances under adverse weather
conditions.
Beginning in 1950, Locust School ceased
being an "all-grades" school, and instead served specific
grade levels. In its final year, it served the primary grades of
the western half of Plymouth Township. It was closed in 1960 and
students were bussed to Decorah.
To ensure that future generations of
students would not forget the days of one-room schools, the Locust
School Society was founded in 1965 to preserve this unique school.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the
Winneshiek County Historical Society presently owns and operates Locust
School.
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Have the students
develop a comprehensive list of items that exist in their school today
that would not have existed in the small school of the mid-late 1800's
in Iowa.
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Review the typical schedule of a one-room school. An
interesting account, titled A Day in the One-room Schoolhouse can be
located online at: http://www.msc.cornell.edu/~weeds/SchoolPages/a_school_day.html
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Identify vocabulary
associated with rural schools of Iowa in the 1800s:
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OUTHOUSE or PRIVY--A small
building that had a bench, with holes, where one would go to the
bathroom.
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PRIMER--A small book that
combined reading, grammar and spelling all in one volume. Most
had illustrated alphabets at the start of the text. Primers were
designed to teach children how to read.
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ONE-ROOM SCHOOL; COUNTRY
SCHOOL; RURAL SCHOOL--From the beginning of the 18th century to the
middle of the 20th century, schools in rural American usually
consisted of one-room buildings. They served the children of the
families who lived in the immediate vicinity of the schoolhouse.
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ILLITERATE--Having little or
no formal education or unable to read or write. In 1840, it is
estimated that 25% of the adult population was illiterate in the
United States.
Working in pairs or small groups, have the
students write down a comprehensive list of observations as to what made
up the rural school of the late 1800's. Include the building
itself and what was found both inside and outside the building
If time permits to spend an extended
period of time at the school, simulate the schedule of a one-room school
including recitation, mental arithmetic, pledge to the flag, geography,
history, singing, recess games, and the like.
Develop a chart identifying how the
physical arrangements of a one-room rural schoolhouse differed from
today's schools. For example, one-room schools had one teacher for
grades 1-8, lamps instead of electricity, wood or coal-burning stoves
for heat, no running water or bathrooms, rows of desks fastened on
runners nailed to the floor, a school bell or bell tower that announced
the beginning of the school day and lunch pails arranged in rows in the
vestibule.
- The Winneshiek County Historical Society, Mr. George Pfister, 305
Mound St., Decorah, Iowa 52101. Phone: (319) 382-3421.
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