McLean County Schoolhouses in 1895

Mike Johnson, Intern

McLean County Museum of History

Summer 2010

History

Education has been a vital part of society in McLean County since the first pioneers began arriving in the mid 19th century. The first organized schools were housed in log schoolhouses. These tended to be located in groves where timber supply was abundant. They were known as subscription schools, where each student paid a certain amount of tuition before being allowed to attend the school. A state school fund was created in 1837 to give every child in the state an equal opportunity for an education. The amount of money each school received was determined by the amount of students in the school.

As settlement increased before the Civil War, more attention and organization were needed to run the schools. Therefore, in 1855, the state passed the Free School Law. After townships were surveyed throughout the county in 1857, each had their own school districts containing a board of directors responsible for hiring teachers and levying taxes. Schools also received aid from the state through the State School Fund, which was given to schools through real estate taxes. This fund increased from just one million dollars in 1872 to over fifty million dollars in 1949. During the early 20th century, many schools began to deteriorate as these buildings started showing their age. Fires and violent storms often damaged and destroyed schoolhouses, and they were rebuilt shortly after. In order to keep the schools cleaner, safer, and up to date, the Sanitation Act of 1917 was passed, prompting extensive repairs to many schools. New ventilation systems, indoor plumbing, garages, and other modern features were built in order to provide better facilities for teachers and students.

In the earliest days, most teachers were not formally trained, nor did they have to be. It wasn't until 1845, when certificates were given to teachers who could teach reading, writing, grammar, geography, and history. Having a certified teacher meant more income for the teacher and more funds for the school. When Normal School, later Illinois State University, was opened in 1857, the school included teacher training in its mission. Several of these teachers were sent to nearby, rural schoolhouses to serve for a few months until they were replaced by someone else. This is similar to student-teaching being done today. Schoolhouses served other purposes as well. They were often used as churches and meeting halls for groups, like literary societies and civic and social clubs.

After World War II, the state began to look at ways to save money. One of those ways was to consolidate schools. Besides this, there were several other reasons. Attendance in most of these one-room schools was dwindling. Some schools even had to close due to lack of students. Improvements in roads and transportation took place throughout the county during this time. Therefore, children and families could travel longer distances throughout the day, and schools did not have to be as close together. Many schoolhouses needed repairs, and rather than fix them, it was often better to send the kids to another schoolhouse or into the nearest town. The years 1948 and 1949 marked the end of most schoolhouses, as they were absorbed into larger districts. Covell and Dale School, in Dale Township, were the final two schoolhouses left in McLean County until they finally closed in 1960. Only a few schoolhouses still stand today. Most were sold, torn down, or remodeled into homes or garages. Many sites were plowed up for farming.

However, schoolhouses were symbols of community in remote areas of the county. Besides being a school, it was a place where a local farmer and his family could go and interact with nearby friends, relatives and neighbors. This being said, schoolhouses will always have a special place in McLean County history.

Most of this information comes from the research of William B. Brigham, the McLean County Superintendent of Schools from 1927 to 1943. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Brigham compiled extensive research on all of the schools in McLean County. This led to the publication of The Story of McLean County and Its Schools in 1951. In the book, he writes about all of the schools, as well as other facts about McLean County. The school locations for the Google map were based off plat maps of every McLean County township in 1895. These maps are about 15" X 18" and feature color-coded school districts. Most of the roads from 1895 still exist, although some altering has been done and new roads have been built. Even so, access to these sites, whether they still exist or not, remains possible in most cases.