Seward County, Nebraska - Chapter 14: Pioneer Schools of Seward County, 1916

The settlements of Seward county during the sixties were scarcely condensed enough to form school districts or build school houses. However, regardless of this condition the prevalent desire of the settlers to have their different localities placed upon a firm foundation for the expansion and growth of knowledge through the channels of public education seemed to have been bred and born in the mind of every individual homeseeker. In fact the school appeared to be an indispensible part of the home necessities. And we find efforts were put fourth for the forming of school districts and the construction of school houses as early as 1865, and the success gained in the establishment of a school at Camden and at West's Mills that year mark the beginning of Seward county schools. And the establishment of these two first schools also mark the advanced settlement in the foremost localities along the great western highway, the "old freight route." In the great rush of immigration from 1866 to 1872 schools and school houses sprang into existance in every precinct in the county. The greater number of these attainments were not gained through acts of state legislatures nor by the aid of public school funds, but through the determind will of an enterprising and public spirited class of citizens. They did not wait for the decrees of government to furnish funds to build school houses, but applied their muscle and ingenuity to the task of erecting their own places of learning and following this with subscription funds to pay teachers. The school houses were rude and homely, but they bore all the assuring signs of the times, pointing onward to the com- ing advancement in the future. "Where there is a will there is a way," and the will and the way were both put into effective practice in school matters in those early days. In view of these facts official records of the amount of money paid, either by the state or county for school purposes, furnish but a ver\T small amount of information of the true condition along this important line of western civilization. The first appropriations were not fully supporting for the small number of schools then in the county and the public funds could not increase in proportion to the increase in the number of schools. The developement in the school system in the county was so rapid that twenty-six organized schools were officially reported in 1870, while several others had been established and not officially organized sufficient to draw any support from the public school funds.

As near as we have been able to learn, the first school in the county was, as previously stated, held at Camden in a frame school house in 1865 and was taught by Thomas Graham. It has been stated, however, that Miss Agnes Bailv, (afterwards Mrs. Corneilus West) taught a term of school near West's Mills in 1863, but this was perhaps a private family school as there is no definite knowldge of any public school organization at that early date. Again there is a question of doubt about the priority in the schools as Miss Englehaupt has the record of having taught the West Mills school in the winter of 1865-66, this leaving but one chance for the Camden school to be recorded first - that it may have been a summer term. In those times a school term was supposed to be three months.

In 1866 the little settlement just north of where Seward is located, consisting of thirteen families had mutually determined that they needed a school and a meeting was called late in the summer to make necessary provisions for its establishment, and as W. W. Cox was one of the principal charactures in this enterprise we will let him tell the story of that pioneer school meeting and its results. 'We met on the prairie near Mrs. Spears' present home. We had no school officers, no school tund, no money and no credit. We voted no bonds, but we voted a school house. We taxed ourselves each four round logs to be delivered on the ground. Lewis Moffit taxed himself one acre of ground, worth one dollar and a quarter, and we taxed ourselves with the necessary labor to construct the edifice. We searched our primises to find a few 8xio window glass and a few rough boards to construct a door and a few benches. We made wooden hinges to hang the door. We used the virgin prairie sod for a floor. We cut willows along the river to cover the structure, then we plowed sod with which to shingle it, and soon rejoiced that we had a place to send our children to school, and that we had a meeting house, a court house and an election booth all our own and not a cent in debt." It is understood that this was Seward's first school house and W. W. Cox was the lirst teacher.

Another small school house was built upon the present school grounds at Seward in 1870 and H. M. Coleman was the first teacher. The city's first high school building was an artistic brick structure built in 1874.

The first term of school in Milford was taught in a small school house by Geo. B. France in the earliest davs of the village's settlement. With the rapid increase of inhabitants the school soon outgrew its house and one of the church buildings was used for school purposes, and the school was advanced to two grades, Mr. France being the principal and Miss Courtright his assistant. At this time Milford had the largest school attendance of any school in the count\\

A log school house was built at Oak Groves in 1867 and the first term was taught in it by Miss Sarah A. Scott in the same year. A sod school house was built on the south-east corner of section 32 in B precinct in the fall of 1869. It was the first school house in the precinct and was built upon the donation system, each resident of the locality donating his share of the labor in breaking, hauling and laying the sod. And the door, windows and covering for the building were picked up wherever they could be found in the neighborhood and it required a general search of premises to find them. Seats and desks were furnished by the patrons of the school as their needs required. F. M. Timblin taught the first term of this school and his salary was raised by subscription.

The first term of school in F precinct was taught in a cabin in 1868, but a school house was soon after built which became known as "the Slonecker school house."

The first school house in H precinct was built m 1869 on section 28 and Thomas Cowen was the first teacher. A second sod school house was built in this precinct in district No. 32 in 1872 and Miss Kate Miller taught its first term of school. A school house known as the "Hi Brisbin sod school house," was built in N precinct in 1870. The first term of school in this precinct was taught by Mrs. P. J. Goodrich. A sod school house was built in E precinct in 1870 and Miss Clara Derby taught the first term in it.

A sod school house was built in the John W. McCaulley district, one mile south-west of the present location of Beaver Crossing in M precinct in 1870. Several terms of school were taught in this house and it was also used for a justice's court house and town hall. We were in attendance at cne legal trial there in 1871 which was held at night, commencinir in the evening and continuing till about one o'clock the next morning. Justice J. W. McCaulley presided. D. C. McKillip was the prosecuting attorney and Wm. Wilson conducted the defense. Hot shot was exchanged by those two pioneer attorneys so incessantly that all thoughts of the fleeting time were laid away in the back-ground and the

A sod school house was built in the village of Beaver Crossing in the fall of 1871 which served for school, church, lodge room, elections, political caucuses and all public meetings until the completion of the frame school house in' 1874. The district of Beaver Crossing raised the necessary funds to build this new house by a unanimous vote of bonds. The building was completed ready for the seats and desks just before the 4th of July and T. H. Tisdale being the school director and manager of the construction of the ediiice, gave an Independance Day ball in the new school house to raise money to buy a school bell. The dance was a success and the bell which was bought with the proceeds has rang over forty years for school and is still serving that purpose. For several years following the placing of this bell, as the first of its kind in Seward county, it rang for church as well as for school in as clear tones as if it had beeu purchased from the funds of church donations. It is a fine bell and should last until the end of time.

A sod school house was built on the south-east corner of the south-west quarter of section twenty-two, on Norman Casler's homestead in L precinct, known as the "T. J. Foster school house," in 1871. It was used for school, elections, political caucuses, church and other public meetings for a number of years when it was replaced by a frame which was built on Minyard Foster's homestead half a mile farther east. A second sod school house was built in the north part of L precinct in 1872 which was used for two or three years when it was replaced by a frame. This house served but a short time when it was destroyed by a prairie fire. The school was then returned to a sod house where it was taught until the completion of the second frame.

was known as "Mound Prairie school house." It was used for school, town hall, church, elections and other public meetings until as late as 1881.

Upon the opening of the Beaver Crossing school the Mc- Caulley school was consolidated with it and the old sod school house in that district went to decay.

This sums up the earliest of the pioneer schools which were mere outlines of the system which followed in due time. School districts were formed in all precincts in rapid succession and houses of pioneer architecture were constructed for their accomodation. They were of sod, logs aud dugouts, all of which have disappeared from view.

While the foregoing list of the pioneer schools of Seward county is incomplete it is perhaps sufficient to display the dominant spirit of those early settlers in the time of their difficult trials in making homes. The number of school houses in the county in 1870 has been unofficially estimated at twenty. Six reported as frame, four logs, seven sod and three dugouts. The number of school children in the beginning of j 870 has been reported at 782, and in April 1871 there had been an increase of 465 making a total of 1,247 children of school age in the county.