ICHS to host program, ice cream social at Gritter Creek School

Driving west out of North English along curved gravel roads to the old Gritter Creek Schoolhouse is reminiscent of the trip former students made every day to class. Join the Iowa County Historical Society at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 9, for a program on one room schoolhouses followed by an ice cream social. Those attending are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs.

The speaker will be William Sherman, West Des Moines, a former member of the State Historical Society board of trustees. He is a retired Iowa State Education Association official, an expert on the stories of one room schoolhouses and their role in Iowa's history, and editor of the book “Iowa’s Country Schools: Landmarks of Learning.”

The red brick schoolhouse is in an oak and hickory grove, northwest of North English in District Gritter, English Township. Schools were built in groves of trees to protect them from prairie fires. Before the brick building, there was a log schoolhouse at the west end of the schoolyard.

Gritter was built in 1874 with bricks from the Chauncey Weathral Brickyard, located one-quarter of a mile east. The woodshed or coal house on the east end of the yard was built before 1900, with outhouses built around 1916. Water was carried from the nearby farmhouse for drinking since a well was never available. They did not have anything fancy, they just drank out of a water pail and the students all took turns using the same dipper.

The Gritter School also served the neighborhood as a community center and during the Depression of the early 30s it served as a church. The earliest schools were conveniently located wherever settlements arose, with the teacher often a settler too. Together families

paid the teacher $5 or $6 a month. In the 1880s, salaries for the men teachers were $28 and women teachers $25. The average per pupil cost was $1.37. Frequently, tramps greeted the teacher in the morning as the school was a place for them to spend the night.

In 1951, the county reorganized the school districts and Gritter Creek school was closed. The old district is now part of the English Valleys Community School District. The school was sold to the English Township Trustees, Aug. 23, 1961, to be preserved as a memorial. The Iowa County Historical Society has been responsible for the schoolhouse upkeep since 1963 as part of a plan of restoration of historical sites. North English area people, local businesses and former students have helped to upgrade and preserve the school. In 1965 a new roof was put on by former students. Once again in early 1980s the North English area people helped raise funds for tuck pointing. The Iowa County Historical Society paid to have the bats removed from the attic of the school in 2022.

Many of the artifacts from the school are kept in the Gritter room in Marengo at the Pioneer Heritage Museum. There had been some talks in the past concerning moving the school, but it was found to be too costly.

Gritter Creek School is the only brick one room schoolhouse left in Iowa County. To find the school go west of North English on F67. Just west past the golf course, turn onto gravel (336 St.) Continue west/southwest two miles to J Ave, the first road going north. Turn north on J Avenue and advance one mile to the school.

(Editor’s note: Information for this article was taken from information that the late Reta Fox has supplied over the years for various newspapers and speeches.)