Colfax Twp
Summary from the survey completed in 1997- Summary
- 1 existing bad shape
- 1 home
- 2 as Museums
- 4 unknown fate
- 1 part of home
Holland Sec. 26/35 - Brick School - 2 rooms - Holland Community Center
Colfax No. 1
Section 2 - Southeast corner- Harvey Getting farm - used for grain storage - torn down
Colfax No. 2
Section 4 Southeast corner- moved to Holland - used for storage and garage - torn down Art Meester moved it to Holland in 1956 - bad shape - S Colfax St. East side - still there
Colfax Township School Brings $280 at Auction
The Colfax No. 2 rural independent school district schoolhouse sold for $280 Tuesday at public auction. Arthur Meester of Holland was the top bidder. He plans to tear it down and use the materials to build a garage.Jake Engelkes gave a successful bid of $100 for the one acre of land where the school was located. This property adjoins his farm.
Including other equipment, the auction totalled $389.25.
--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 14 April 1955, pg 1
Colfax No. 3 a.k.a. Henry Aalfs School
Section 5 - Southwest corner- Used now as old school - Grundy Co. Museum at Morrison
Colfax No. 4 a.k.a. J. P. Meyer School
Section 17 - Southwest corner- moved to Wellsburg 810 E 4th Wellsburg Leon Abels home
Colfax No. 5
Section 16 - Southeast (15 SW) corner- by Colfax Center Presb. Church - GONE - torn down 1961
Joe Rademaker bought moved building to farm site 1/2 mile S added to house but torn down in 1980's
The new school house in District No. 5 Colfax completed this fall is heated with a furnace. The new building is a sample of what every country school house in the county schould be. John Siefken bought the old building for $85 and he moved it to his place Friday.
--Wellsburg Herald (Wellsburg, Iowa), 6 December 1911, pg 5
Rural Schools Closing
The rural school in Colfax No. 5 closed last Friday for the school year. This school will now remain closed permanently and the pupils in the district will be transported to a town community school. Mrs. Leola Abels, teacher in that school, will be a member of the teaching staff of the Grundy Community school for the next school year.The school in District No. 1 Colfax will close this week. Pupils and teacher, Mrs. Lois Erpelding, held a picnic in the Grundy Center park on Wednesday.
--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 12 May 1960, pg 1
Colfax No. 6
Section 14 - Southeast corner- Richard Bertram tore down in 1980's - Brick - home for many years
Colfax No. 7
Section 26/35- Holland - Brick 2 room - Holland Community Center
Colfax No. 8 a.k.a. Cowie School
Section 34 - Northwest corner- Moved across a frozen field in 1960 to Renko Schmidt used for grain - taken down in 74. The lumber was used for the family room and double garage at the home of Jerry Schmidt in GC.
As a student Denny Kiewiet was looking out of the window and saw that Bert Cowie's house was on fire. He told the teacher, who put him in charge of the room while she ran to warn Bert and Grace Cowie. The house did burn down but not until they got everything out, including an antique light fixture which (Con Abels an electrician) had time to remove. They finally had to stop Grace from going back to get stuff out of the attic.
Colfax Dist. No. 8 Held Annual Reunion Tuesday Afternoon
The annual reunion of the Colfax School Dist. No. 8 was held Tuesday, July 8, on the school grounds. This event was also the 75th anniversary of the school.The entertainment consisted of singing, instrumental music and reading of poems. A history of the school was also given. Refreshments of pie, cake, ice cream and coffee were served after the program. There were 100 present.
The old officers were re-elected. They are E. A. Cowie, president; Viola Groote, secretary and treasurer.
Following is a history of the school as written by E. A. Cowie:
In giving his short history of School District No. 8, Colfax Township, Grundy County, I have taken these statements from an article my sister Mrs. Libbie Brown wrote at one time, the old registers and from memories of some of the older ones.
The first school was held in my father's (James Cowie) granary over across the road from here. The first teacher was Kitty Baker from Grundy Center.
There has not been much change in the original school building, the hall across the front was added later and there has been two or three new floors laid as paths were worn in them. The original seats were all double seats and the first old stove as I remember was a great big round cast iron with a high tin drum up above the fire box that used to get the top blown off when the teacher, who was fireman and janitor, would smother the fire and it would explode when it did start. Had the same old desk, home made by a carpenter, which was used until the new one was bought a few years ago. You still can see the old desk in the hall.
There have been fifty-eight teachers during the time and about two hundred scholars have attended school in this building.
In the early years there were only eight months of school during the year but in recent years changed to nine months. These pupils are scattered all over the country and some in Canada. I would say just about every profession and occupation would be represented by some one who at some time had attended school here.
There has been no school in the district the past year and it is with regret that we see these small schools being closed as there are many fond memories brot to mind by the scholars that have attended these schools as they get to be older people and they get together and talk over old times.
--Wellsburg Herald (Wellsburg, Iowa), 30 June 1949, pg 1
Colfax No. 9
Section 31 - Northwest corner- No. 1 Herbert Quick Museum in Park on Main St. (G. Ave.) in Grundy Center
(9) No. 2 on site - 3 miles west of Holland on D35 or 205th St. then 1/2 mile S -west side road. - is used for grain storage - Lawrence Graves owns - looks good
NOTE - Sec. 28 Great Grandfather Fred Getting had 9 children that attended Colfax #9 a little more than 1 mile. The children did walk to school much of the time but sometimes took the horse and wagon. On 1 occasion the children became very frightened when the horse started running very fast. he turned into the farm driveway and fell dead. The story is that the horse wanted to get the children home safely. we live on this Century Farm.
NOTE - Harken home - 301 Colfax Holland - Albert Johnson moved into Holland
NOTE - Debbie Harris Home in Holland - Moved from Lincoln Twp. Sec. 16 SE corner
Colfax Township School Areas Assigned By Board
Unassigned Portions of Colfax No. 2 and No. 5, and 3/4-Section in Pleasant Valley Township To Become Part of Grundy Center Community School District July 1st.The Grundy County Board of Education in an organization meeting in the courthouse Monday evening, passed a resolution by unanimous vote to assign rural school areas in Colfax and Pleasant Valley townships to the Grundy Center Community school district. The total area consists of approximately 10 1/2 sections of land. The landowners and tenants in these areas have expressed a desire to become a part of the Grundy Center district. This area had not been assigned previously to any community school.
The Colfax School District No. 1 has expressed a desire to become part of the Grundy Center Community school district. The rural school was closed this year, and all of the pupils are attending the Grundy Center school. A petition for merger between Colfax No. 1 and the Grundy Center district has not been filed, but it is expected that such will be filed with the county board of education within a few weeks.
A merger with a school district is accomplished in the following manner:
(1) A petition signed by at least 20 per cent of the qualified voters of a school district not operating a high school, proposing that said district be included in a high school district, shall be filed with the county superintendent of the county.
(2) The school board of the high school district involved shall, after the filing of the petition, take action at the next regular board meeting or a special meeting called for that purpose, agreeing to accept said school district not operating a high school into the high school district and filing a record of this action with the county superintendent.
(3) The county superintendent shall fix a time and place for filing any objections.
(4) If there are no valid objections to the procedure, an election shall be held in the school district not operating a high school, and if approved by a majority of those voting, said district shall become merged with said high school district on the July 1st following the election.
The Grundy Center Community school district would not be required to vote in this merger procedure. The board of education would approve the action of the majority of the votes in Colfax No. 1.
At present there is approximately 3/4 of a section of land in Pleasant Valley township that had been assigned July 1 to Colfax No. 1, which will probably join with the Grundy Center District in the near future. Colfax No. 1 is the district two miles north of Holland.
Unassigned Portions of Colfax To GC Community School
The Grundy County Board of Education at their meeting Monday, in a roll call vote, agreed to attach certain un-assigned portions of Colfax No. 2 and Colfax No. 5 to the Grundy Center Community School district. This is area which was not included in the Wellsburg reorganization program.
In Colfax No. 2, 1 3/4 sections of land is assigned to the Grundy Center district. In Colfax Dist. No. 5, 3 5/8 sections of land were assigned to the Grundy Center district.
The assigned area will become a part of the Grundy Center district the 1st of next July and will almost complete the reorganization of unassigned rural school areas in Grundy county.
Representing the Grundy Center board of education at the meeting Monday evening were Dr. E. A. Reedholm, president of the Grundy Center board, and Supt. Walter Fredrick of the Grundy Center Community school.
Several of the farms which are affected by the action of the county board are as follows:
In Pleasant Valley township, the Harold and Andy Meester home place and the residence of Harry Meester.
In Colfax District No. 2: The Gerald Meester farm; the Philip Tack farm, tenanted by Marvin Tack; land in section 10 owned by Annie Andreessen; a small area owned by Fannie Claassen. The eastern portion of the district which was not included in the Wellsburg reorganization will become a part of the Grundy Center district.
In Colfax District No. 5, sections 15, 21 and 22 were assigned to the Grundy Center district, and section 16, except for the John Freese farm and the 80 acres of the Joe Knock farm tenanted by Cliff Rogers. The balance of the area in Colfax No. 5 will go to the Grundy Center district.
--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 5 October 1961, pg 1