schools for iowa

Country Schools for Iowa

To anyone traveling through

pre-World War II rural Iowa, the

country school was a familiar sight.

Solitary yet reassuring, the country school

marked the center of rural neighborhoods,

gave identity to the community, and dis-

played commitment to the education of

future generations. Unpretentious, like the

farm families it served, the country school

represented the essence of rural Iowa.

Friendship SchoolJOAN LIFFRING-ZUG COLLECTION: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (IOWA CITY)

Cover photo: Bear Creek SchoolSTATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (IOWA CITY)

Country Schoolsfor Iowa

byCamilla Deiber and Peggy BeedleThe Louis Berger Group, Inc.

with special thanks to:the staff at the State Historical Society of Iowa Library at Iowa City, and the staff at the State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.

Designed and printed by J&A Printing, Hiawatha

This project has been funded with the assistance of a matching grant-in-aid from the State Historical Society of Iowa, Community Programs Bureau, through the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, under provisions of the National Historic

Preservation Act of 1966; the opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Department of the Interior.

September 2002

Generations of Iowans have fond memories of theircountry schools:

We certainly had good times — the days weren’t longenough for all we had to do.— Mary Margaret Moninger, Marshall County coun-

try school student1

The energy and inventiveness of the teacher deter-mined how much transformation took place in theschoolroom. It never took onthe sparkle of Aladdin’s cave,this open room with its dustyblackboards, dingy curtainsand roll of maps and diction-ary. But a teacher withenthusiasm and a few appro-priate symbols could make it shine in our eyes…My years there remain inmemory as some of the bestyears of my life.— Poet James Hearst about

a rural school near CedarFalls in the 1910s2

Even people who never attended a country schoolhave heard stories from their parents and grandpar-ents, usually introduced by “In my day, I walked twomiles through twelve inches of snow to get to school—all uphill!” For most, the country school was not justa center of learning; it was often the center of manyactivities within rural communities in Iowa—a placefor neighbors to gather and socialize.

You might say the country school then had so muchcommunity interest that it was a community project, soto speak. The school was where the pie suppers and boxsuppers were held, also the recitals and spelling andciphering contests. Grown-ups participated, too, andschool board member John Brand could sometimesoutspell a teacher. — Harold Horton, recollecting the Brushwood School

#5 in Clarke County.3

These once commonplace sym-bols of learning and communitypride have rapidly disappearedfrom the rural landscape of Iowaover the last few decades. In1901 there were 12,623 countryschool buildings in Iowa; in asurvey conducted in 1996, theIowa State Education Associa-tion found only 2,911 still stand-ing. Nearly 77% of small countryschools in Iowa are no more.4

Despite or perhaps because of thedramatic loss, the memory of thecountry school is treasured by

modern-day Iowans. Nearly every county in Iowa triesto preserve the history of its country schools—in fact,ninety-five out of ninety-nine counties have at least onecountry school in use as a museum. Although none ofthe remaining school houses is used today for publiclyfunded education, as of 1998, there were forty activecountry schools used by various religious groups for theeducation of nearly 1,000 children.5

CHART DATA TAKEN FROM IOWA’S COUNTRY SCHOOLS LANDMARKS OF LEARNING,

EDITED BY WILLIAM L. SHERMAN

Education was a fundamental necessityto the early settlers of the IowaTerritory. The first school opened inLee County in 1830. Mr. BerrymanJennings was hired by Dr. IsaacGalland to teach eight students for athree-month session. The first schoolhouse was a log cabin built by leadminers in 1833—the very year theystarted working in the Mines of Spainarea near Dubuque.6 By the time the Iowa Territory was organized in1838, there already were between 40and 50 established schools,7 and eightyears later the state constitutionmade provision for a “system of com-mon schools” under a Superintendentof Public Instruction.

In 1858, the legislature passed aneducation bill making the civil town-ship the official school district. Townswith more than 1,000 residents (anumber later lowered to 100) couldbecome independent districts operat-ing separately from the township dis-tricts. County superintendents wereelected to supervise both the town-ship and independent schools.

An official school township districtincluded up to nine sub-districts, eachcontaining an area of four squaremiles, with the school building in the

center. In this manner, no child wouldhave to walk more than two miles toget to her school. In reality, localpolitics, large families, or changingdemographics often dictated that aschoolhouse move to another moreadvantageous site in the district.Such moves became so prevalent thatsome schools were constructed onskids to accommodate relocationsshould they become necessary.

In 1872, refinements to the 1858 lawallowed sub-districts to becometheir own independent school dis-tricts. These changes transferredcontrol of country schools from thetownship to rural neighborhoods.As long as a country school had atleast ten students8, it could remainin an independent sub-district gov-erned by its own board of trustees,and for a time at least, educationcame under the control of the localresidents.

School TeachersBefore 1890 most country school-teachers had very little formaltraining with which to meet thechallenges of an ungraded school.Although the Iowa Normal Schoolwas established in 1876 in Cedar

History of the country school in Iowa

COUNTRY SCHOOLS 3

Agnes Samuelson visiting ruralPolk County schoolhouse

AGNES SAMUELSON COLLECTION: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (IOWA CITY)

were sometimes shutdown during the schoolyear to accommodatethe program.

In the 1880s legis-lators pushed for teacher certificationstandards that even-tually changed thegender make-up ofteachers in Iowa.Men of the periodhad opportunitiesfor work in rural

areas that didn’t requireadditional education; while payingroles for women were few and farbetween. By 1905, fully 85% of theteachers in Iowa were women.10 By thebeginning of the 20th century, statelegislation now mandated curriculumand textbooks used in country schools,although according to several personalreminiscences, adherence to the cur-riculum was spotty:

…Miss Flock marched us inside,wound the Victrola, and we startedthe music lesson with “Old DogTray,” followed by “De CamptownRaces.” Miss Flock joined in, amezzo-soprano, experimenting a bitwith harmony, especially when big

DeWayne growled along in deepbass. At the end of a song she burstout laughing and sometimes evenclapped. We clapped too, havingmore fun with the singing businessthan ever before…I began to feel alittle uneasy lest some parent stop byand wonder if the song fest shouldtake the place of arithmetic andspelling. But of course no parentwould visit unless invited, and noneof us were driven to school by car, sothere was no chance of a parentalglimpse into our life there. Wewalked from our farms even in win-ter when snowbanks closed theroads; we traveled in a group, gath-ering neighbors along the way. MissFlock was in no danger of beingchecked on unless one of the pupilstalked.11

— Curtis Harnack, from his bookWe Have All Gone Away

School ConsolidationRural school consolidation began inIowa as early as the 1890s. In 1896the Educational Council of theNational Education Associationappointed a committee, headed byIowa Superintendent of PublicInstruction Henry Sabin, to conduct a

4 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

Rural School,1952 SiouxCounty.

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Falls as a teacher-training facility, its educational system was gearedprimarily towards preparing teachersfor positions in graded, urbanschools.9 To address this issue, county superintendents held “NormalInstitutes” beginning in the 1880s to prepare prospective teachers forwork in rural schools. These insti-tutes were two-week courses designedto bring rural schoolteachers togetherto learn new methods and exchangeideas. Although institutes were usual-ly held in July or August, schools

study of rural schools in the UnitedStates. The study found that “com-pared with the apparent efficiencyand standardization of the urbanschools, the rural schools ...were indi-vidualistic, inefficient and chaotic...”12

Proponents of consolidation proposeda rural school that would teach coun-try children “sound values and voca-tional skills”. The result was to be astandardized, modernized community.

Rural school consolidation had a cen-tral role in the planned transforma-tion of the rural Midwest.13 Membersof the ad hoc Progressive politicalparty of the first two decades of the20th century were concerned thatrural populations were becomingincreasingly isolated from the eco-nomic and ideological changes thatwere happening in the nation atlarge. The Country Life movement

was meant to transform rural lifefrom isolated small towns and farm-steads into a system of integratedcommunities, sharing ideas andimproving their productivity. Consoli-dating rural schools was a significantstep in that direction.

According to researcher David R.Reynolds, rural school consolidation“produced more conflict than anyother educational issue placed beforeIowa voters in the twentieth century.”14

A 1901 Biennial Report from theSuperintendent of Schools Richard C.Barrett listed the potential benefits ofconsolidating rural schools: betterteachers, reduced per capita costs,more and better supervision, betterattendance, better buildings andapparatus, added courses, and betterschools at less expense. Rural resi-dents had an equally long list ofobjections to consolidation, includingthe loss of local control over theschools, the likelihood of a higherproperty tax burden being placed onrural residents, and the lack of goodroads to get the pupils to school.15

Proponents of consolidation worked toovercome the farmers’ natural “suspi-cion of the city.”16 by emphasizing thesuperiority of education student

COUNTRY SCHOOLS 5

Children walking to school

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STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (IOWA CITY)

would get at the consolidated schoolover the one-room country school, asuperiority that was worth anyincrease in taxes.17

The rural school consolidation move-ment in Iowa got a boost from an Iowatransportation bill passed in 1897,allowed public expenditure for thetransportation of schoolchildren. Oneschool district in Winnebago Countyimmediately took advantage of thenew law, closing down three ruralschools and transporting the pupils toa new consolidated township schoolthat had been approved by city votersin Buffalo Center but had not yetbeen utilized by outlying districts.18

Although the first consolidation lawin Iowa was passed in 1906, themovement was slow getting started.The law mandated that a schooldistrict include no fewer than six-teen square miles; and electors inboth urban and rural areas had toapprove the larger district in separatevotes. By 1910, there were only ten consolidated schools includingAlbion (Marshall County), BuffaloCenter (Winnebago), Crawfordsville(Washington), Fernald (Story), LakeCenter (Hamilton), Lincoln Township(unknown county), Floyd Town-

COUNTRY SCHOOLS 7

Country teachers at Institute.Lesson on judging, 1914

HUFTALEN COLLECTION: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (IOWA CITY)

ship (Dickinson), Marathon (Buena Vista), McIntire (Mitchell), and Webb(Clay).19

In 1913, another law further encour-aged the rural school consolidationmovement—funding for consolidatedschools. Districts could receive aid forschools if they met grounds and build-ing requirements, had acceptable

Gilman Consolidated School

public transportation for stu-dents, hired certified teachers,maintained an agricultureexperiment plot, and owned theproper equipment to teach agri-culture, home economics andmanual training. Schoolsreceived money for equipmentand instruction according tothe number of rooms in thebuildings—a two-room schoolreceived $250 for equipmentand $200 for instruction,three-roomed schools broughtin $350 for equipment and$500 for instruction, and fourrooms got the school board$500 for equipment and $750for instruction.20

Consolidation of countryschools benefited also whena minimum attendance lawin 1919 forced directors toclose a school that hadfewer than five students inaverage daily attendance orcould not show the plannedattendance of at least tenpupils for the followingyear.21 Country schoolsstruggled to stay openunder the stringent mini-mum attendance require-

ments, garnering some sympathyfrom local politicians. By 1925, thenumber required for anticipated atten-dance was lowered from ten to seven.

A piece of legislation that marked theimpending demise of the countryschool system was passed in 1945. Itallowed directors to close a school ifthe operating cost per pupil wasgreater than the cost of tuition atanother school.22 In 1953, new legisla-tion required the formation of com-munity school districts to receive pub-lic funding with each district absorb-ing all elementary schools in theregion.23 This law effectively closedany remaining country schools. By1972 there were only 472 school dis-tricts in the state, and not a singlepublic one-room schoolhouse.24

N I N E T E E N T H C E N T U R Y

C O U N T R Y S C H O O L

A R C H I T E C T U R E

The 19th century country schoolresembled the country church inappearance: a long narrow rectangle,with windows on one or both sides,front entrances and a gable roof. Thetypical nineteenth-century dimen-sions for a country school were 18 feetwide and 28 feet long. For the most

8 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

1881 Schoolhouse near DavenportSTATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (IOWA CITY)

Schoolhouse, Persia, Iowa

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA COLLECTION (IOWA CITY)

designed and builtby local craftsmen.The typical build-ing procedure wasto lay a foundationof stone and mor-tar and the chim-ney, frame up thebuilding, add theclapboard siding,sheet the roof andshingle it, andperhaps add abell tower or aflag spar. Thework was doneby craftsmenand crew, but

often local people contributed labor inorder to reduce the cost. The cost of aschool building in 1900 ran between$600 and $800.

School sites were normally selected ina corner of a section, in order to mini-mize disruption on the neighboringfarm. The sites were one acre in size,fenced off from the farmland, withtrees along the property line. Exceptfor the earliest schools, when landwas purchased from speculators orthe government, farmers ordinarilypurchased or donated the land. If thesite was abandoned, the land reverted

Oralabor RuralSchools Dec. 8,1939 Polk Co.

to the original owner. Wells were con-sidered too expensive, and water wascarried daily from the closest farm-stead, a chore most often carried outby one of the students.

Playground equipment such asswings, chin-up bars, and slides didnot become popular until after 1900.Outdoor games played by studentswere limited only by their imagina-tion. Typical games played atBrushwood School #5 in Clay Countyincluded “Drop the Handkerchief, Foxand Geese, Blackman, Hide and Seek,and Johnny May I Cross YourRiver”.25 Separate privies for boys andgirls were set in the corners at theback of the lot, and woodsheds werenear the school. While popular folk-lore pictured the “little red school-house,” most painted the vast majori-ty of Iowa schoolhouses white, partlyto reflect the sun and partly becauseof tradition.

T W E N T I E T H C E N T U R Y

C O U N T R Y S C H O O L

A R C H I T E C T U R E

Until 1920, nearly all Iowa countryschools had gable roofs. In the 1920shipped-roofed structures with insetporches, influenced by the Arts &

part, this American vernacular typeutilized commercial materials: dimen-sion lumber, bricks, concrete block,wood shingles, and local limestone,although some log schools remained inuse for many years. By the 1890scloakrooms or entryways were part ofthe standard design of countryschools. In the nineteenth centurythere was usually a bank of three dou-ble-hung sash windows on the 28-footsides of the school building.

While there were plan books avail-able, most country schools were

10 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

WPA COLLECTION: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (IOWA CITY)

Crafts and Bungalow styles, began toappear, with a corresponding additionin width to about 32 feet. A few flat-roofed, cube-style “International”schools were built in the early 1940s.Bell towers were uncommon on mostof Iowa’s country schools built in the20th century. Those few schools thatwere adorned with bell towers wereusually in more prosperous communi-ties. In the 1920s, when electricitybegan to appear in rural areas, somedistricts were willing to pay the addi-tional cost to bring a line to theschool. By the 1930s the rural electri-fication movement brought electriclights to all country schools.

The greatest contrast among countryschools was in classroom equipment.Here the district’s prosperity, or lackthereof, and a commitment to provid-ing quality education were most evi-dent. There was usually a built-inbookcase to house a library. Studentdesks, singles or doubles, and arecitation bench varied somewhatfrom building to building, but it wasthe size and design of the teacher’sdesk, and the presence of a pump

organ or piano, wall maps, globes,and curtains that distinguishedschools from one another. Black-boards ranged from painted wood to

COUNTRY SCHOOLS 11

Summit Township RuralSchool, Clay County


slate. While the austere exterior sym-bolized the practical, the interiorreflected the community’s concern forthe children.

12 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

Nominating a School

What is the National Register?The National Register of HistoricPlaces is the official Federal list ofdistricts, buildings, sites, structures,and objects that are worthy of preser-vation and that are significant inAmerican history, architecture,archaeology, engineering, and cul-ture. Nominating a country school tothe National Register raises aware-

ness of its significance to the history ofIowa. Completing a National Registernomination can be a very rewardingand intensive process. This section isintended to provide the frameworkand basic resources for nominating acountry school to the NationalRegister of Historic Places.

The Nomination Process—Step-by-Step

S T E P O N E —G E T T I N G S TA R T E D

The first step in nominating acountry school is to contact theNational Register Coordinatorat the State Historical Societyof Iowa to request a NationalRegister packet of informa-tion, and to find out if theschool has been previouslysurveyed. The Iowa SiteInventory at the StateHistorical Society of Iowacontains information on his-toric buildings, structures,sites, objects, and districtslocated across Iowa—information on the schoolbeing nominated may have

already been gathered. The NationalRegister packet includes instructionson how to research a property andhow to complete a nomination as wellas National Register nominationforms, a list of State HistoricalSociety staff that can answer ques-tions, and, should it be necessary, alist of consultants that can be hired tocomplete or assist with a NationalRegister nomination.


COUNTRY SCHOOLS 13

S T E P T W O — A S S E S S I N G Y O U RS C H O O L ’ S S I G N I F I C A N C EA N D I N T E G R I T Y

What makes a particular countryschool worth listing in the NationalRegister? Answering that questioninvolves placing a school within thehistoric context of the development ofrural education in Iowa. Historiccontext is “information about theperiod, the place, and the events thatcreated, influenced, or formed thebackdrop to [country schools].”26

Conducting research on the countryschool will help determine how theparticular school fits within the his-tory of rural education in Iowa (See Step Three for Guidance onResearching A Property).

Historical significance is the wayin which a property is important tothe history, architecture, archaeology,engineering or culture of a commun-ity. A school may possess historicalsignificance in four different ways, asdescribed by the National RegisterCriteria for Evaluation:

A. Association with events, activities,or broad patterns of historySchools may be eligible underCriterions A for their association

with the development of a ruraleducational system in Iowa. Theycan also be eligible under this cri-terion for their importance as asocial center for rural communitiesin Iowa.

B. Association with importantpersons

Schools that were directly and sig-nificantly associated with individ-uals who played an important rolein the development of education inIowa may be eligible underCriterion B.

C. Embodiment of distinctive physicalcharacteristics of a type, period, or

School children gathers around teacher at table, ca. 1915-1920


14 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

method of construction or thatrepresent the work of a master, orthat possess high artistic valuesSchools may be eligible as anexample of a distinctive buildingtype—the country schoolhouse—because of their universal form—a

one-story, gable roof structure withdouble-hung windows on the sidesand an entry on the gable end.

D. Potential to yield importantinformationSites of former schoolhouses thathave not been physically disturbed

may yield important archaeologicalinformation about the school’s con-struction and activities and there-fore be eligible under this criterion.

Historic IntegrityCan a country school represent its sig-nificance to Iowa’s educational historyif it no longer looks like a countryschool? No. A property must have his-toric integrity to be listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.Historic integrity is the ability of thebuilding to convey its history throughits original material, design, work-manship, location, feeling, associationand setting. Many country schoolshave lost their integrity—throughdeterioration due to abandonment orthrough extensive alteration. In orderfor a country school to have integrity, itmust retain much of its original exteri-or materials such as wood or stonewalls, foundation, wood sash windows,and wood trim—it must look like it didwhen it was an active country school.The interior of the school should alsobe as intact as possible, retaining theoriginal floor, blackboards, wood trimand molding. A country school shouldalso retain its original location to beeligible, although moving a countryschool from a rural setting to a similar


Students making walks to well andfuel house….Page County, ca. 1910.

COUNTRY SCHOOLS 15

rural setting may not disqualify itfrom consideration.

S T E P T H R E E — R E S E A R C H ,R E S E A R C H , A N D R E S E A R C H

Where to lookFinding information on a countryschool can be a hit or miss process.The most common sources of informa-tion include local newspapers, histor-ical maps, school records such asattendance reports, grade books, andsummary reports; and repositoriessuch as local and county historicalsocieties, libraries, and county court-houses. School records, which canoften be found at the local schooladministration office or at the localhistorical society, offer the most inter-esting and comprehensive picture of acountry school’s history. Summaryreports, completed by outgoing teach-ers, included information such as ateacher’s name and salary, class size,lesson plans, books used, and evennotations about the schoolhouse andschoolyard.27 Oral history, storiesfrom former students and teachers,can also be a fruitful source of infor-mation. A bibliography and resourcelist of other helpful materials is locatedon page 27 of this booklet.

Historical photographs of schools canreveal much about a school’s historyand how it has changed over time.Local historical societies are greatplaces to look for historical schoolphotographs. The State Historical

Society of Iowa has a large collectionof photographs of WPA sponsoredprojects including country schools atboth its Des Moines and Iowa Cityarchives.


Schoolyard showing outhouses,pump, schoolhouse, etc.

Prescott Twp. #3,Adams County

• What buildings, struc-tures, equipment, etc.are on the property?Which ones were therewhen the country schoolwas still active?

S T E P F O U R —C O M P L E T I N G T H EN O M I N AT I O N

Once background re-search on the school hasbeen completed, theprocess of writing the

National Register nomination canbegin. Completing a National Reg-ister nomination can involve writingnarratives that describe the schooland how it is significant at the local,state or national level and document-ing the property with black and whitephotographs. National RegisterBulletin 16: How to Complete theNational Register Registration Form,which is included in the NationalRegister packet mentioned in StepOne, provides detailed instructions onhow to fill out the nomination. WhenNational Register nominations havebeen completed they are submitted tothe National Register Coordinator atthe State Historical Society of Iowa.The first review of the nomination

addresses the eligibility of the schoolfor listing on the National Registerand the completeness of the researchand documentation efforts. The nomi-nation is returned to the applicantwith comments for improving thenomination. The revised second draftis reviewed by a group of staff thatwill make recommendations on thecontent of the nomination. Nomina-tions that have been found adequateafter staff reviews are submitted tothe State Nominations Review Com-mittee (SNRC), a panel of lay peopleand professionals with disciplines inarchitecture, archaeology, architec-tural history, and history, who mayalso make comments and recommen-dations on the nominations. Once thenomination is revised, it is returned tothe National Register Coordinator,signed by the Iowa State HistoricPreservation Officer, and then forward-ed to the Keeperof the NationalRegister at theNational ParkService for finalapproval.


Students mending fence atNorwich School

What to askFocus your research toward answer-ing the following questions. This infor-mation is necessary for the school tobe considered for listing in theNational Register of Historic Places.

• When was the school built?

• What was its name when it was in use as a country school?

• What did the school look likewhen constructed?

• What changes have been made tothe school and when were theymade?

• How has the school been usedthrough its history?

16 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (DES MOINES)

Rehabilitation brings a vacant orunused building into productive use.As illustrated in the graph below, asurvey of numerous extant countryschools shows that most have becomeresidences. Nearly 25% of countryschools have been converted intogarages, storage sheds or agriculturaloutbuildings; while 11% serve com-munity uses.

At first glance, rehabilitation oppor-tunities for vacant country schoolsmay seem limited. Country schoolsare located in remote rural areas, andare generally too small and lack mod-ern plumbing or electricity. Unlikemost town and city schools, countryschools are privately owned, makingrehabilitation into community typebuildings more problematic. Neverthe-

Rehabilitationless, as the graph shows, various usesare possible and, if rehabilitated inaccordance with the following princi-ples, a country school can stand as aneloquent reminder of a bygone era:

• The proposed use should be appro-priate to the school building, andshould minimize changes to defin-ing characteristics such as roofshape and decorative details, sid-ing, — size and pattern of windows,general floor plan, and interiorfeatures such as blackboards, woodtrim, and wood floors.

• If the interior is to be changed toaccommodate a new use, interiorchanges should not impact exteriorappearance.

• Additions should be compatible interms of massing, scale, and archi-tectural characteristics with theoriginal structure, but should nottry to mimic the original or look“old”.

• Additions or alterations should notinvolve the removal of historicmaterials or elements — insteadconserve elements such as finishesor construction techniques by hid-ing them.

18 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

Residences41%

FarmBuildings

21%

Vacant13%

Other11%

Museums7%

Community Centers4%Garages

3%

WILLIAM L. SHERMAN.IOWA’S COUNTRY SCHOOLS LANDMARKS OF LEARNING, 1996.

The Secretary of the Interior also hasguidelines on how to preserve themost important aspects of an historicstructure. The guidelines below applyto the materials most commonlyfound in country schools.

M A S O N R Y ( I . E . B R I C K , S T O N E ,C O N C R E T E , A N D S T U C C O )

Identify, retain, repair and preservemasonry features that are importantin defining the overall character ofthe school such as brick, concrete orlimestone walls, cornices, windowsills and lintels, door pediments,steps, and columns, joint and unitsize, tooling and bonding patterns,and coatings and color.

R O O F

Identify, retain, repair and preserveroofs and their functional and decora-tive features that are important indefining the overall historic characterof the school. This includes the roof ’sshape, such as hipped or gable; deco-rative features such as cupolas, crest-ing, chimneys, and weathervanes;and roofing material such as slate,wood, clay tile, and metal, as well asits size, color and patterning.

District #1, Washington Twp.,Jackson County

COUNTRY SCHOOLS 19

WPA COLLECTION: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (DES MOINES)

W I N D O W S

Identify, retain, repair and preservewindows and their functional anddecorative features that are impor-tant in defining the overall historiccharacter of the school. Such featurescan include frames, sash, muntins,glazing, sills, heads, hoodmolds,

W O O D

Identify, retain, repair and preservewood features that are important todefining the overall historic characterof the school such as siding, cornices,brackets, window architraves, anddoorway pediments; and their paints,finishes, and colors.

WPA COLLECTION: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (DES MOINES)

paneled or decorated jambs and mold-ings, and interior and exterior shut-ters and blinds.

The open plan of the country schoolmakes it easily adaptable to a widevariety of uses including residences,community halls, museums, and busi-nesses. The Secretary of the Interiorhas some guidelines that are impor-tant to follow when adapting a coun-try school to another use:

I N T E R I O R S PA C E S

Identify, retain, repair and preserve afloor plan or interior spaces that areimportant in defining the overall his-toric character of the school. Thisincludes the size, configuration, pro-portion, and relationship of roomsand corridors; and the spaces them-selves such as entryways, storageclosets, cloakrooms, bathrooms, andother specialized spaces.

I N T E R I O R F E AT U R E S A N D F I N I S H E S

Identify, retain, repair and preserveinterior features and finishes that areimportant in defining the overall

historic character of the school, includingcornices, baseboards,stoves, paneling, lightfixtures, hardware, andflooring; blackboards,built-in cabinetry andshelves; and wallpa-per, plaster, paint, andfinishes such as sten-ciling, marbling, andgraining; and otherdecorative materialsthat accent interiorfeatures and providecolor, texture, andpatterning to walls, floors,and ceilings.

B U I L D I N G S I T E

Identify, retain, repair and preservebuildings and their features as wellas features of the site that are impor-tant in defining its overall historiccharacter. Site features can includefencing, trees, playground equipment,privies, wood sheds, wells, andarchaeological features that areimportant in defining the history ofthe school site.

COUNTRY SCHOOLS 21

Langdon Rural School, March 9, 1942

District #5, Quincy Twp.,Adams County WPA COLLECTION: STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (IOWA CITY)

22 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

Summary & Significance

District #9 Winnebago County.

William H. Drier speculates that as much as 75% ofIowa’s population in the late 19th and early 20thcenturies were educated in a country school.28 Theimportance of the country school to the history ofIowa cannot be overstated. These modest struc-tures were symbols of the hopes and dreams ofIowa’s rural population for a better future for theirchildren and for themselves. And despite the non-specialized and ungraded curriculum, they did pro-vide a better future for Senator Tom Harkin, ArtistGrant Wood, Author Laura Ingalls Wilder, 4-HFounder Jessie Field Shambaugh, GovernorWilliam Larabee, former President Herbert Hoover,and many others. Iowans held on tight to theircountry schools because they were the center andsymbol of their social life and community in a timewhen it wasn’t just a five-minute ride into town.

Though most of the country school buildings inIowa have been removed or modified beyond recog-nition, there are many which have the potential toprovide Iowans with a glimpse of what it was like toattend a country school, an experience that todaylies only in the memory but can still be approachedwith thoughtful rehabilitation and reuse.

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA COLLECTION ( IOWA CITY)

24 COUNTRY SCHOOLS

S E C R E TA R Y O F T H E I N T E R I O R ’ S S TA N D A R D S F O R R E H A B I L I TAT I O N

Most schools are vernacular buildings constructed of common materials such as wood, brick, concrete block, and limestone.Lack of heavy ornamentation on most country schools make them very straightforward buildings to rehabilitate. The Secretaryof the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which are listed below, provide the framework for preserving a school’s significancethrough the preservation of its historic materials and features.

1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the definingcharacteristics of the building and its site and environment.

2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of fea-tures and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of his-torical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be under-taken.

4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall beretained and preserved.

5. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a property shallbe preserved.

6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replace-ment of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and,where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial

evidence. 7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic

materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be under-taken using the gentlest means possible. 8. Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved.If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken. 9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historicmaterials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the oldand shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protectthe historic integrity of the property and its environment. 10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such amanner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historicproperty and its environment would be unimpaired.

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA (DES MOINES)

Jasper Twp. #6,Adams County

Several major sources were consulted for thispublication and are recommended furtherreading. The Draft Multiple PropertyDocument “One-Room Country Schools ofIowa” written by Robert Neymeyer, andWayne Palmer Truesdell’s thesis “A Historyof School Organization and Superintendencein Iowa” hold a wealth of information aboutthe history of country schools and their archi-tecture. Iowa’s Country Schools: Landmarksof Learning by William T. Sherman providesa useful summary of the state of countryschools today including a county-by-countysurvey of country schools. The Fall 2001issue of Iowa Heritage Illustrated focused oncountry schools in Iowa, with several articleson researching country schools, funding forthe preservation of country schools, and acollection of lively memoirs from formercountry school students. There Goes theNeighborhood: Rural School Consolidation atthe Grass Roots in Early Twentieth-CenturyIowa by David R. Reynolds contains a greatdeal of insight into the consolidation move-ment. Curtis Harnack’s book, We Have AllGone Away, is a wonderful source of touchingand humorous memories of life in a countryschool in the early 20th century. Otherresources that may be of interest are listedbelow by topic.

History of Iowa Education

Aurner, Clarence Ray1912 History of Education in Iowa. State

Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City,Iowa. Published in five volumes.

Brown, George A.1922 Iowa’s Consolidated Schools. Iowa

Department of Public Instruction, DesMoines.

Iowa Department of Public Instruction1915 Suggestions and Plans for Iowa

Schoolhouses and Grounds. Iowa DPI,Des Moines.

Iowa Department of Public Instruction1925 Regulations for Standardizing Common

Schools. Iowa DPI, Des Moines.

Iowa Department of Public Instruction1952 Inventory of Existing Public School

Facilities, Needs, and Resources. IowaDPI, Des Moines.

Legislative Service Bureau1851-Code of Iowa. Legislative Service

Bureau, General Assembly of Iowa, DesMoines, Iowa.

Meiborg, James Edward1970 A Fifty-Year Period in the Evolution of

Schoolhouse Design and Constructionin Iowa: 1919-1969. Doctoral disserta-tion, University of Iowa, Iowa City.

Neymeyer, Robert2000 One-Room Country Schools of Iowa.

Draft Multiple Property DocumentForm. On file at State HistoricalSociety of Iowa, Des Moines.

Reynolds, David R.1999 There Goes the Neighborhood: Rural

School Consolidation at the Grass Rootsin Early Twentieth-Century Iowa.University of Iowa Press, Iowa City,Iowa.

State of Iowa1857 School Laws of Iowa: Compiled from

the Code of Iowa for Use of SchoolOfficials, Administrators, and Laymen.State of Iowa, Des Moines.

Truesdell, Wayne P.1965 A History of School Organization and

Superintendance in Iowa. Doctoral dis-sertation, University of Iowa, IowaCity, Iowa.

Williams, R. C.1936 A Review of Iowa’s Public Schools.

Research Bulletin No. 21, Iowa Depart-ment of Public Instruction, Des Moines.

History of Education

Brunner, Edmund de S., and J. H. Kolb1969 Rural Social Trends. Greenwood Press

Publishers, New York. Reprinted.

Gutek, Gerald L.1991 An Historical Introduction to American

Education. Waveland Press, Inc. Pros-pect Heights, Illinois.

School Architecture

Barnard, Henry1849 School Architecture. Reprinted 1970.

Teachers College Press, ColumbiaUniversity, New York.

Dressler, Fletcher B.1911 American Schoolhouses. Government

Printing Office, Washington, D. C.

Fuller, A. C.1917 “Iowa.” The American School 3(11):332.

Gebhard, David and Gerald Mansheim1993 Buildings of Iowa. Oxford University

Press, New York.

Gulliford, Andrew1996 America’s Country Schools. Third edi-

tion. University Press of Colorado,Niwot, Colorado.

Shank, Wesley I.1979 The Iowa Catalog: Historic American

Buildings Survey. University of IowaPress, Iowa City, Iowa.

B I B L I O G R A P H I C R E S O U R C E S

1Robert Neymeyer, “One-Room CountrySchools of Iowa,” Draft MultipleProperty Document, State HistoricalSociety of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, Sec. E, p. 9.

2Neymeyer, Sec. E, p. 9.

3Excerpted from Harvey R. Horton’sarticle, “You Learn About People,” Iowa Heritage Illustrated Volume 82,Number 3 (Fall 2001): 101.

4William T. Sherman, ed., Iowa’sCountry Schools: Landmarks ofLearning. (Parkersburg: Mid-PrairieBooks, 1998), 65.

5Sherman, 9.


7Clarence Ray Aurner, History ofEducation in Iowa. (Iowa City: StateHistorical Society of Iowa, 1912),Volume I, p.5.


9David R. Reynolds, There Goes TheNeighborhood: Rural School Consoli-dation at the Grass Roots in EarlyTwentieth-Century Iowa. (Iowa City:University of Iowa Press, 1999), 63.


11Curtis Harnack, We Have All GoneAway. (Ames: Iowa State UniversityPress, 1981), 47.

12Reynolds, 54-55.

13Reynolds, 35.

14Reynolds, 85.

15Iowa Department of Public Instruction,Biennial Report of the Superintendentof Public Instruction. (Des Moines: TheState of Iowa, 1901), 35-38.

16George S. May, “The End of the FirstPhase,” Palimpsest 36, no. 1 (1956):38.

17May, 41.

18Truesdell, 281.

19Truesdell, 287.

20Truesdell, 291.

21Truesdell, 262.

22Truesdell, 262.

23Sherman, 9.

24Leland L. Sage, A History of Iowa,(Ames: Iowa State University Press,1974), p. 330.

25Loren N. Horton, “Creativity was notencouraged,” Iowa Heritage IllustratedVolume 82, Number 3 (Fall 2001): 108.

26National Register Bulletin 39:Researching A Historic Property..(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department ofthe Interior, 1991), 6.

27Lori Vermaas, “Finding Your School’sPast: A Research Primer,” IowaHeritage Illustrated Volume 82,Number 3 (Fall 2001): 138.

28Sherman, 8.

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