LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA

Grandview High School History 1908-1959

The firstschool in Grandview Township was held in a log cabin in 1839. In 1855, an incorporated association called the Grandview Literary Institute was organized in the town of Grandview. The Association members made it financially possibleto buy Block 14 in the town of Grandview and erect a building forconducting an academy. The academy later became the Eastern Iowa Normal School and became famous since there were very few teacher training centers at that time in the state. By 1899, the IndependentSchool District of Grandview had acquired the academy building and it became an elementary school with eight grades. In 1906, a 2-yearhigh school was added. The first graduation of Grandview High Schoolstudents took place in 1908. An eleventh grade was added in 1914 and a twelfth grade was added in 1918. Some students continued their education when the grades were added and graduated more than once. In 1916, the old building was condemned and declared unfit forpublic use. On June 27, 1917 a proposal for a consolidated school district was passed by voters in a special election. Until the new building was erected, classes were held in the Grandview Savings Bank and other buildings in town. The cornerstone was laid for the new building on July 14, 1918. The first graduating class in the new building was the class of 1920. Sports teams were known as the Grandview Greyhounds. Consolidation again took place and a new districtcalled Louisa-Muscatine Community School District was formed including Grandview, Letts, Fruitland, Port Louisa and the surrounding areas. The last class to graduate from the Grandview Consolidated School was theclass fo 1959. The building continued to be used for several years asan elementary school. Block 14 is now a city park called Academy Park. The newer building has been turned into an apartment complex called Grand View Complex. Superintendents through the years were Nellie Christy, 1908-1909; Rudolph Boozer, 1912; Lloyd Taylor, 1915; A.R. Morledge, 1923-1929 and 1947-1959; Hale C. Reid, 1930-1931; L.E.Robertson, 1932-1935; Ray F. Reed, 1936; J.F. Loper, 1937-1943; Durward Jones, 1944-1945; C.H. Marple, 1946.