Rural school system boosted Iowa’s population, economy

NORTH ENGLISH — Iowa’s rural school system didn’t simply educate children, it brought settlers to Iowa, increasing the population, the number of farms and the economic base of the new state, said Sandra Host during a presentation in North English Sunday.

Host attended Willow Tree rural school, officially known as Richland Twp #1, before it closed in 1951. Now she’s curator of a museum in the school in Heritage Square Park in Odebolt.

Host gave a history of the rural school system in Iowa at the English Valleys History Center in Sunday. Residents from around the state attended The History Center’s programs every month.

While pioneer schools in Iowa were open to all children, parents had to pay tuition to cover costs not paid for by property taxes, said Host.

Horace Mann, a prominent educator, was instrumental in starting the free public school system in Iowa, said Host. The State of Iowa enacted a public school law in 1958 which provided free, tax-supported schools for every child.

Rural children made up more than 75% of students in the state in the mid 1800s, said Host. The school plan required that rural schools be built in each section of the land grid so no student had to walk more than two miles to get there.

In 1858, the average farm was one quarter section, said Host, so a rural school could have children from 16 families.

“The tall grasslands … in Iowa were still not settled,” said Host. To bring settlers to the state, Iowa gave the railroad land in exchange for coming through the state, she said.

“That was critical if Iowa’s economy was going to grow,” said Host.

From 1870 to 1900, “a million farm settlers came to Iowa, doubling the population,” said Host. The public schools were funded by land sales.

By 1900, Iowa had 12,623 rural schools.

The first generation of rural school were wood structures with three windows on the opposite sides of the building. They usually had an entry way of some sort, and none had basements, Host said.

Around 1910, a theory emerged — from a window blind company in Illinois, said Host — that schools shouldn’t be lighting their classrooms from opposite sides of the building. So schools changed their designs, putting windows in adjacent sides instead of opposite sides.

Many of these later buildings looked like bungalows and had basements, said Host.

Schools built during the Victorian era are recognizable by their Victorian features, said Host, including contrasting colors, fish scales, gingerbread scroll work and ornate bill towers.

Many have all, narrow Italianate windows. “They’re very easy to spot,” said Host.

Teachers had to be 18 years of age, and they had to be certified, said Host. Students were grouped by their level of ability and had to pass tests to move to the next level.

Students worked at their own paces and didn’t move on until they could pass, Host said. Their advancement was not dependent on anyone else in the class.

But many people didn’t understand rural life, said Host. They felt that students would benefit more from town schools.

Farms consolidated, decreasing the number of families in rural school districts. Families had fewer children, and roads were better, making transportation to town schools easier.

Rural schools began closing as their enrollment decreased. By 1966, no public rural schools were in operating, said Host.

Some schools have been turned into houses. Others are museums. But most no longer exist, some falling into disrepair and others burned down or destroyed by vandals.

Every Iowa County has preserved at least one rural school, Host said.