Individual One-Room School Histories of Liberty Township
Chaplin School is believed to have been built around 1874 on land bought by the school trustees from James Walker for $50.00. It was the only rock school in the Liberty township. The school was named for a man called Chaplin. The building was used as a school until 1949. Church services and community club meetings were also held in the building. The property is now on land owned by Forrest E. Waters and was used for storage until its collapse.
The origin of the Franklin School is currently unknown. The school burned down in the early 1930s and was rebuilt and used until it dissolved in 1951. It is currently the home of Mr. & Mrs. Russell Nash.
The beginning of the California school is unknown. However, it is currently standing on property owned by Louis and Henry Vollmer. The school's last teacher was Joyce (Spangler) Neubauer. It is believed it was the first township school to dissolve around 1930.
Pleasant View, popularly called the Brick School, is believed to have been built before 1850 by Mormons who left the area after a religious conflict with the Dunkards. the building was used at times both as a church and school. The school was dissolved in 1951 and its last teacher was Etta (Breckenridge) Johnson. The school was destroyed by a tornado in 1960 and all that remains is the small foundation and the front step. Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Knuffman live on the property, and Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Kurfman own the ground.
The Lost Prairie School was originally known as the Union School (before 1857) and was located in Section 3 before it was rebuilt in Section 2. The school was built in 1877 on land sold to the Trustees by David and Susan Nations for 17.50. The school was closed about 1946. It is currently owned by Lloyd Brewer of St. Charles, Mo. It is in poor condition and being used for storage.
The first church in Liberty township was located where the Seigel schoolhouse was located. The origin and closing of the Seigel school are currently unknown. However, the building is now part of the home of Mr. & Mrs. Albert Mayfield. Built in 1869, it was a small log building. John Gorman, F. H. Barnard and William Gordon were the first directors and Mary Kelly was the first teacher. The first schoolhouse burned down in 1876 and a new and larger one was built on this site. this building stood for thirty years until 1906, when the present school building was erected. It was used as a school until 1947. It is currently used as the East Union community Club Center. In the year 2001, Terry Volbracht owns the land on which the building stands. The East Union Community Club meets there monthly. The last teacher of the school was Ruth (Gramke) Cramsey.
The Hickory Grove School, also known as the Log school or Hickory Flats, was built in 1865 as a log cabin building. The log building lasted as a school until it was replaced in 1934 by a frame building. This remained a school until around 1944. This building was torn down with a modern home constructed on the foundation of the school. It is currently the home of Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Salmons. The last teacher of the school was Alice (Gramke) Clark.
Read more about this topic: Liberty Community Unit School District 2, Liberty, Illinois School History
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“Behind every individual closes organization; before him opens liberty,—the Better, the Best. The first and worse races are dead. The second and imperfect races are dying out, or remain for the maturing of the higher. In the latest race, in man, every generosity, every new perception, the love and praise he extorts from his fellows, are certificates of advance out of fate into freedom.”
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“... my mother ... piled up her hair and went out to teach in a one-room school, mountain children little and big alike. The first day, some fathers came along to see if she could whip their children, some who were older than she. She told the children that she did intend to whip them if they became unruly and refused to learn, and invited the fathers to stay if they liked and she’d be able to whip them too. Having been thus tried out, she was a great success with them after that.”
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