| LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA |  |
|
| LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA | |
Page 71
Transcribed by Sharon Elijah, November 17, 2019
Diagram – a copy of Eliot Township map
Eliot, or Eliott as it was first spelled, is located in the southeast part of the county. It was one of the earliest parts settled. It is bounded on the south by Des Moines County, on the west by Wapello Township, on the north by the Iowa River, and on the east by the Mississippi River. Originally it was part of Florence Township, which no longer exists. The northern part was part of Jefferson Township and at one time a part of Wapello Township.
The land near the river can be flooded, and since the levees were raised it can by very wet if the rivers are up for some time. The southeast area was a large lake following the levee break in 1946. The water dammed up behind the Mississippi River levee, and this closed the two eastern rural schools for a time.
Page 72
Pictures: Ballard school picture given to Marion Schafer for not being late or tardy the first half of the year.
Teacher, Lena Yotter Front row, left to right: ?,?,?, Ruby Malcom, Winifred Siverly Kuhl, Ethel Johson Stoller, Cecil Spitznogle, Daisy Johnson. Back row: Jacob Schwitzer, Guy Johnson, Abbie Malcom, Della Malcom Reiman, Mattie Johnson Malcom, Allie Dale Spitznogle, Dick Johnson.
Ballard was located north of Oakville very near the Iowa River as shown on the 1873 map. The first location was on land owned by Orr Willets, but about 1899 the school was moved east to land belonging to C. A. Ballard because the first location was subject to frequent flooding.
The school closed sometime after 1917. Later the building was made into a home. The 1946 flood wiped out several buildings and the first road.
Three teachers are known to have taught there: Francis Jamison Swan, Lova Westphal Helm and Lena Yotter. Martha Bower Charbonneau did a week of student teaching there to be certified. Some of the students were the Siverlys, Malcolm, Strawhackers, Johnsons, Spitznogles and Schweitzers.
A former student remembers Mrs. Helm taking her small sister to school on the horse in bad weather, leaving the others to walk. Beside the toilets there was a coal shed for the teacher to keep her horse. Behind the school was a large pond where the boys played ice hockey with sticks and a tin can. Sometimes the ice would wave under their weight or the can would drop into the pond.
The building and the road are gone, leaving little trace of the school.
Page 73
Picture: CARL, 1910.
Front row, left to right: ?, Noel Charbonneau, Elma Johnson, Harold Austin, Fern Austin, Bill Johnson, Minnie Johnson, Jennie Charbonneau. Back row: Asa Charbonneau, John Austin, Elsie Johnson, Agnes Peck, Leona Austin, Dora Austin, Dewey Peck.
The Carl school was located about five miles southwest of Oakville on a hill south of Highway #99. The land was given by C. A. Carl in 1874.
Teachers included: Lawrence Drinkall, Bonnie Peck, Bessie Williams, Helen Cook and Emmett Carter. Mr. Carter drove a horse and buggy; the other teachers stayed in the homes of the Johnsons, Wilburs or Austins. These are some of the families whose children attended: Charbonneaux, Johnsons, Johnstons, McIntyre, Baxters, Malcoms, Earnests, Sietz, Evans, Brown and Austins. At times the attendance was twenty-five to thirty students.
After 1916, the school consolidated with Oakville schools. The Church of God held services there, and by 1945 Carl was torn down.
Lone Star No. 7 was located about four miles northeast of Oakville on land given by Elias Raffenberger. With the exception of a few years from 1901 to 1957, school was held there.
Mrs. Whitaker reports that the families attending there between 1901-1923 included: Thornton, Sloan, Munson, Glidden, Odell, Stoller, Kerker, Hawkins, Willard and Webb.
Mrs. Malcom, who taught there later in two periods, says: “I took my youngest daughter with me for two years when she was three and four years old.” During the first period of her teaching, she had children from these families: Gerst, Hawkins, Swanson, Miller and Whitaker. In her second period there, 1952-56, the families were: Swanson, Gerst, Peck, Hawkins, Whitaker, Robertson, Brown and Applegarth.
The early schools had three terms each year. Fall, Winter and Spring, and occasionally a short Summer term. Teachers were hired for each term, not for the full nine months.
Page 74
Pictures: LONE STAR 1953-54.
Front row, left to right: Steven Gerst, David Whitaker, Marjorie Malcom—teacher, James Applegarth, Lester Hawkins, Jackie Robertson. Back row: Norma Jean Robertson, Mary Ann Hawkins, Carol Peck, Joyce Swanson, Bertha Hawkins, Tom Brown, Michael Applegarth, Ernest Peek, Raymond Robertson.
LONE STAR, 1955-56. Front row, left to right: Jackie Robertson, Craig Whitaker, Dale Whitaker, Mike Whitaker, Lester Hawkins, Wallace Gerst, Patty Swanson, Donald Swanson. Back row: Dean Hawkins, Mary Ann Hawkins, Ernest Peck, Raymond Robertson, Norma Jean Robertson, Steven Gerst.
Page 75
| Year | Fall | Winter | Spring |
| 1902 | Charles Robertson | Florence Childs | |
| 1903-04 | Mrs. Hazel Smith | Mrs. Hazel Smith | Florence Childs |
| 1904-05 | Elizabeth Wallace | Elizabeth Wallace | Charles Searles |
| 1905-06 | Charles Searles | Charles Searles | Charles Searles |
| 1906-07 | Charles Searles | Charles Searles | Elizabeth Henderson |
| 1907-08 | |||
| 1908-09 | |||
| 1909-10 | |||
| 1910-11 | Charles Searles | Charles Searles | Maude Silverton |
| 1911-12 | Phillip Bratton | Phillip A. Bratton | Phillip A. Bratton |
| 1912-13 | Daisy Nearhood | Hallie Lee | Hallie Lee |
| 1913-14 | Frances A. Thompson | Frances A. Thompson | Frances Thompson |
| 1914-15 | Zelma Arlington | Zelma Arlington | Zelma Arlington |
| 1915-16 | |||
| 1916-17 | |||
| 1917-18 |
| Year | Teacher | Salary Per Month |
| 1918-19 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $70 |
| 1919-20 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $80 |
| 1920-21 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $100 |
| 1921-22 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $100 |
| 1922-23 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $100 |
| 1923-24 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $80 |
| 1924-25 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $80 |
| 1925-26 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $80 |
| 1926-27 | Marjorie Reynolds | $70 |
| 1927-28 | Marjorie Reynolds | $80 |
| 1928-29 | Winifred Siverly | $80 |
| 1929-30 | Nellie Chrissinger | $80 |
| 1930-31 | Elizabeth Cummings | $80 |
| 1931-32 | Elizabeth Cummings | $75 |
| 1932-33 | Elizabeth Cummings | $75 |
| 1933-34 | Elizabeth Cummings | $50 |
| 1934-35 | Elmira Bishop Whitaker | $50 |
| 1935-36 | Elmira Bishop Whitaker | $50 |
| 1936-37 | Marguerite Carter O'Brien | |
| 1937-38 | Edith Havenhill | |
| 1938-42 | Ruby Swan Kelly | |
| 1942-43 | Ruby Swan Kelly | $100 |
| 1943-44 | Marjorie Malcom | $125 |
| 1944-45 | Marjorie Malcom | $140 |
| 1945-46 | Lone Star Closed | |
| 1952-53 | Marjorie Malcom | $265 |
| 1953-54 | Marjorie Malcom | $280 |
| 1954-55 | Marjorie Malcom | $266 |
| 1955-56 | Marjorie Malcom | $266 |
| 1956-57 | Marjorie Malcom | $266 |
Page 76
Picture: PALO ALTO.
The teacher’s name was Nilli Dotson Mellinger. This is one of our earliest schools.
A half mile south of Oakville there was a small village, Palo Alto. It was founded about 1855 and had a school. When the railroad came through north of Palo Alto, the town of Oakville began and this drew people north, so the original town of Palo Alto is gone.
The 1874 map shown the school, which on weekends was used for a church. The church that was finally built there was eventually moved to Oakville.
Prairie Point is five miles east of Oakville and about one half mile from the Mississippi River. The schoolyard is near a drainage ditch, so when the river is up, the ground can be soggy, with a few snakes and mushrooms. A few times when the river was up, one family traveled by boat up a drainage ditch.
The school originally sat in a field north of its present location, but about 1900, with the help of an Alton Starr steam engine and the neighborhood men, the school was moved to land belonging to George Wykert. It is still standing at this location.
In January 1946 the Iowa River flooded and dammed behind the Mississippi levee and made this area lake for four or five months; no school was held there for part of a year. By 1957 the school had become a part of the Oakville school system. In the early 1900s, the school had forty-four students. Some of the students’ families were: Hardin, Shutt, McIntyre, Kulp, Hartman, Cook, Wykert, Mason, Bratton, Whitaker, Leppe, and Minors.
Page 77
Pictures: PRAIRIE POINT, 1913-1914.
Front row, left to right: Elsie Hardin, Sam Wykert, Florence Cook, Clair McIntyre, Loren Williams, Gerald McIntyre, Paul Hardin, Hattie Hardin, Pearl Wykert, Loren Williams, Elizabeth Coor, Marie Cook, Nellie Coor, Bud Coor, Mammie Lester. Middle row: Elsie Wykert, Bog Lester, Jack Wykert, Bob Bratton. Back row: Martha Mason, Frank Shutt, Dolly Williams, Edith Shutt, Ethel Wykert, Belva Williams, Verne Hardin.
Front row, left to right: Judy Wykert Wilson, Connie Wykert Meeker, Teacher – Amy Shutt, Gary Richardson, Marjorie Zippe Williams. Back row: Fay Wykert Richardson, Janet Wykert Williams, Shirley Zippe McCord, Mary Kramer Brown, Joan Kramer Gerst, Charles Kramer, James Wykert, Thomas Wykert, Joan Zippe.
Page 78
| Year | Teacher | Salary Per Month |
| 1907-08 | Vic L. Aubrey | |
| 1908-09 | Elizabeth Henderson | |
| 1909-10 | Lucy Venerable | |
| 1910-11 | P. A. Bratton (Spring: Adda Bell) | |
| 1911-12 | Adda Bell | |
| 1912-13 | Alfred Baldridge | |
| 1913-14 | Emmett Carter | |
| 1914-18 | ||
| 1918-19 | Martha Bowers Charbonneau | $60 |
| 1919-20 | Martha Bowers Charbonneau | $60 |
| 1920-21 | Philip Bratton | $100 |
| 1921-22 | Minnie Johnston | $90 |
| 1922-23 | Capitola Erwin | $70 |
| 1923-24 | Mamie Erwin | $80 |
| 1924-25 | Marie Cutcomp | $70 |
| 1925-26 | Winifred Siverly | $70 |
| 1926-27 | Marguerite Reynolds | $80 |
| 1927-28 | Marguerite Reynolds | $80 |
| 1928-29 | Mae Peck Bailey | $80 |
| 1929-30 | Mae Peck Bailey | $75 |
| 1930-31 | Maxine Watson | $75 |
| 1931-32 | Maxine Watson | $75 |
| 1932-33 | Maxine Watson | $40 |
| 1933-34 | Frances Wolberg | |
| 1934-38 | Marguerite Carter O'Brien | |
| 1938-39 | Edith Havenhill | |
| 1939-43 | Marjorie Wykert | $100 |
| 1943-44 | Allene Carlson | $125 |
| 1944-45 | Lara Westphal Helm | |
| 1945-46 | Florence Kimtz (in January the school closed because of a flood) | $220 |
| 1948-49 | Marjorie Smith | $220 |
| 1949-50 | Marjorie Smith | $220 |
| 1950-51 | Marjorie Smith | $257 |
| 1951-52 | Amy Shutt | $265 |
| 1952-53 | Amy Shutt | $280 |
| 1953-54 | Amy Shutt | $266 |
| 1954-55 | Mae Peck Bailey | $266 |
| 1954-55 | Mae Peck Bailey | $266 |
| 1954-55 | Mae Peck Bailey | $266 |
Page 79
Picture: SPRING BRANCH, 1915.
Lena Yotter – teacher. Front row, left to right: Harold Dean, Hartzell Dean, Joseph Stoller, Leila Swan, Sophia Stoller, Nellie Nyberg, Andrew Siegle, Ray Nyberg, Ray Kuntz, Gerald Mellinger. Back row: Lena Sigle, Viola Nyberg, Myrtle Swan, Blanch Bjork, Arron Swan, Herbert Bjork, Art Kuntz, Joseph Siegel, Cecil Nyberg, John Stoller, Virgil Westphall.
Some time before 1900 Spring Branch school was built. It was located on four corners just south and a little over a mile east of Oakville. It is shown on the 1899 map on land of George Mellinger. By 1918 the school became a part of the Oakville school.
Only one teacher do we have a record of teaching there, Lena Yotter. Two substitute teachers are remembered, Phillip Bratton and Emmett Carter.
The building was moved to a farm and used as a house.
Page 80
2 Pictures: WALNUT DELL.
The Walnut Dell school when school was held there
Bob Campbell of Oakville related this story to me about his father, whose name was also Bob.
One day young Bob, who was in third grade, was on his way to the school outhouse when three unsavory looking men approached him. The men were riding tired and lathered horses and each man had a gun. They asked the frightened young boy the way to the Iowa City road. (This road was west of Morning Sun.) After Bob pointed them in the right direction, the men rode quickly out of town.
It seems these same three men had caused quite a lot of excitement in the small Des Moines county town of Northfield, south of Walnut Dell. The three rode into Northfield and joined in a game of baseball. One of the three stayed to play and the other two robbed the town bank of all its money. Soon after, the three disappeared speedily on their horses. The news of the Northfield robbery reached the Campbell family a day or so later. The description of the three men closely resembled that given by young Bob, and they believed the three bank robbers to be the same three men Bob had seen.
And it was a common belief among all, that the three men were Jesse James and his brothers.
Page 81
Pictures: WALNUT DELL.
We could identify only Lora?.
District No. 2 Eliot Township, Louisa Co., Ia. MISS ERMA E. SHEW, Teacher
|
Page 82
Picture: WALNUT DELL, 1910.
Erma Shew – teacher. Students Pictured: (not in any order) Buddy Campbell, Lawrence Swaggart, Tom Campbell, Ted Campbell, Wilma Lope Swafford, Lora Loper Walker, Herman Swaggart, David Downey, ? Brockett
This school was located under the bluff on the south side of Road H 22. This is known as the “K” road that goes to Newport. The school was about three miles southwest of Oakville.
According to the 1899 atlas the land the school was on belonged to Michael Downey. Our records show Will Peck was the first teacher in 1876-1877. We have records of these teachers but few of the years they taught. Nellie Dotson Mellinger, Ada Bell, John Shutt, Orpha Robertson Carpenter 1908-1909, Hattie Steele, Erma Shew 1910-1911, Alice Hurley 1915-1916, Minnie Swanson 1915-1916, Elma Syphirt, 1916-1917, Bessie Campbell Ray, 1917-1918.
The early school term was 12 weeks and a teacher often moved to another school after a term.
A few of the families or students attending Walnut Dell were: Dorothy and Lawrence Swaggart, Dewey Peck, Fred and Lola Russell, the Lopers, Wilma Elsie and Laura, some Campbells, Bracketts and Culbertsons and many others we were unable to find.
The school closed in 1918 and became a part of Oakville School.
Page 83
Pictures: WALNUT DELL, 1911.
Erma Shrew- teacher. Front row, left to right: Wilma Lope Swafford, Alta ? Bussel, Tom Campbell, Lawrence Swaggart, ?, Ted Campbell, Dorothy Swaggert, Laura Loper Walker, ? Brockett. Middle row: ?, Dale Loper, Bill Campbell. Back row: David Downey, Hermann Swaggart, Dewey Peck, Zola Austin, ? Brockett, Miss Erma Shrew.
Perfect Attendance Certificate
Morals & Manners Certificate
| This is to certify that is hereby a member of the "Manners Club" and has pledged to be always courteours, obedient and kind, and willl answer "Yes Ma'am", "No Ma'am", or "Thank You" such as the case may be. Yours, Morals & Manners |
Page 84
Souvenier of Walnut Bell School
District No. 2 Eliot Township. May 28, 1915 MILDRED LATTA, Teacher F. E. SWISE, Director PUPILS
|
Picture: Walnut Dell school as it now stands