"The first schools in the county were subscription schools, that is those who had children of school age paid teacher's salary. That was the only expense as the school was held in the various homes and the children used whatever text books they could find. One of the first neighborhoods to get a teacher sent to Burlington and hired Miss Ruby Thorpe and school was held in one of the cabins, but it was so lonesome for Miss Thorpe that after a few weeks she resigned and went back to Burlington."
Source:Associated Press Association book on "Who's Who's in Iowa" pub. 1940 from Clarke County section, p. 271-272
Doyle twp Franklin twp. Fremont twp. Green Bay twp. Jackson twp. Knox twp. Liberty twp. Madison twp. Osceola twp. Troy twp. Ward twp. Washington twp.
Rural Schools
"Clarke (County) was divided into twelve townships--three tiers of four townships, each six miles by six miles. The township then, was contained within a grid of seven parallel lines crossed by seven vertical lines (the parallel lines were called the township lines and the vertical lines called the range.)
To locate the schools, place a dot on the crossed lines one mile from the east (going west), and one mile from the north (going south). Another school would be directly west two miles on the same parallel, and the third school at the crossed lines two miles on west. School number three would be one mile from the west border of the township. School number four would be two miles south of three, number five two miles south of two, and school number six two miles south of school number one. All three on the same parallel with school number five usually called Center. The last parallel, one mile above the township would contain schools seven, eight, and nine, consecutively, going west." In theory no child ever had to walk more than two miles to school, though the topography might cause a school to be sited in a different location."
"During the spring and fall the school population usually consisted of children of the lower grades who could help out more at home by being at school while the farm work was being done. When the crops were laid by in late spring or early summer and the corn cut in the fall, the older children were allowed to go. Often some of these children were as old as the teacher and during these terms of school, the numbers of children swelled substantially."
source: "The Four Trails And A Tale Or Two" by Margaret Reeves.