LOUISA COUNTY, IOWA

What brief history we can get of the early school in this district we glean from a scrap book in the possession of Miss Martha Brown. A school was started in 1842, before half a dozen families were in the neighborhood. It was taught by Thos. P. Brown in a little log house that stood a couple miles north of Morning Sun. The district was then quite large, and gradually there sprang up two centers of population, one at Virginia Grove and one in the Morning Sun settlement. In 1847 a division was made, and school was opened in town in a little log cabin on what is now Martha Brown's place, the building still standing today in the barn lot. Here Mr. Brown was again master. In 1849 a little brick school house was built on the plot of ground where Renwick Hueton's house now stands, and again Mr. Brown was made teacher. In 1855 the school was changed to an other building a few rods away. About this time, for some reason, the district was again divided, and a second building erected on a lot just east of where H. Delzell now lives. All north of what is now Division street was called District No. 1, and south, District No. 6.

In the year 1865 the people voted to organize as an independent school district. This was done after quite a fight and it was finally necessary to have the state legislature legalize the act, as there was not then the population in the district required by law to organize an independent district.

In the year 1866 the main part of the school building destroyed by fire last summer, was erected. The north ell was added in 1875, and the west ell in 1880.

Of the early teachers we can give but little. W. E. Blake, now of Burlington, was the first principal when the new building was erected in '66. Other teachers, after him, and possibly before, were the two Goshorns, McNeil, J. A. Brown, Wylie and possibly others.

From the year 1873 we glean the following facts from the records in the possession of the present secretary of the school board:

During the years 1873-1880 we find that the following served as school directors, some of them more than one term: Jos. Campbell, Dr. Reynolds, John Sterett, D. H. Morrison, Frank Mertz, E. D. Young, A. P. Hensleigh, J. W. Bottorf, Wm. Shirk, Jas. Sterett, Jas. Higbee, P. R. Huggins, M. Ochiltree, M. Gilmore, H. McClurkin, C. DeLong, Dr. J. H. Graham.

During the years 1881 to 1890: Frank Mertz, M. Gilmore, E. Frazier, M. Ochiltree, J. L. Marshall, W. E. Smith, Jos. Higbee, Jas. Higbee, Dr. Graham, D. T. Campbell, H. Delzell, T. J. Ochiltree, J. I. Hewitt, Thos. Williams, H. McConnel, S. L. Caldwell, S. McKinley.

During the years 1891 to 1900: T. J. Ochiltree, E. Frazier, H. Delzell, D. H. Morrison, G. D. Huffman, Jos. Boltz, R. R. Orchard, A. B. Rock, John Selzer, M. Ochiltree, C. B. Allen, J. W. Lee, J. L. Vertrees, J. W. Huffman.

The present board of directors and officers are: T. J. Ochiltree, president; J. Kirk Latta, secretary; W. A. Thompson, treasurer; Fred Courts, F. M. Brown, S. W. Delzell, E. L. McClurkin.

During the years 1900 to 1906: T. J. Ochiltree, C. B. Allen, J. L. Vertrees, J. W. Huffman, J. W. Lee, Mrs. Sue Thompson, Mrs. M. C. Talbott, Mrs. J. F. Holiday, Mrs. T. C. Copeland, J. F. Parker, J. G. Bergen.

Serving the district as secretaries we find S. Y. Orr, W. S. Huffman, E. L. McClurkin, H. M. Wright, E. Lyman.

As treasurers: S. A. Thompson, Geo. Cunningham, H. McConnell, D. H. Morrison, E. L. McClurkin.

Presidents of the board since 1873: John Sterett, 1873-76, D. H. Morrison 1876-79; H. McClurkin, 1879-80; Jas. Higbee, 1880-81; J. I. Hewitt, 1881-82; C. DeLong, 1882-86; H. Delzell, 1886-90; D. H. Morrison, 1890-91; E. Frazier, 1892-93; T. J. Ochiltree, 1891-92, and 1893-1906.

The principals at the head of schools since 1873 have been: J. H. Wilson, 1873-74; Mr. Gilbert, 1874; Thos. M. Findley, 1874-76; J. W. Morris, 1876-77; H. C. Hollingsworth, 1877-78: Mr. Fellows, 1878-79; J. B. Hungerford, 1879-80; W. B. Moffett, 1880-81; H. C. Hollingsworth, 1881-82; A. B. Carroll, 1882-1886; W. B. Moffett, 1888-1891; A. M. Dornon, 1891-1901; L. T. Hill, 1901.

The roster of teachers is as follows, commencing with 1873: Maggie Foster, C. J. Orr, Kate (McClurkin) Pomeroy, Flora Wright, May Wright, Mattie A. George, Clemmie Brown, Hattie Reiley, Alice Hurley, Florence Littlefield, Mary Scott, Belle Logan, Hattie Hess, Sadie Pittman, Mrs. M. A. Blake, Anna E. Graham, Eva Gamble, Clara Elder, Villa Lackey, Zillab Hawthorne, Mollie Wilson, Mary Giffin, Anna Young, Jessie Palmer, Maggie Reichley, W. A. Lester, Emma (Maxson) Curran, Agnes (Garvin) Campbell, Nellie Stormont, Laura (Trumbull) Graham, Jessie (Smith) Todd, Maggie Bell, May (Higbee) Thompson. Florence Curran, Ona (Ellis) Smith, Nellie Stoddard, Cora McCulley, A. L. Jamison, Mame McCullough, Jessie Frazier, Dora Bell, Minnie Wilson, H. Luella Betts, Kate Montgomery, Emma Cunningham, J. M. Delzell, Ella (Paisley) Ford, Blanch Asper, Carrie (Francisco) Holiday, Lora Rock, May McClellan, Stella Anderson, Lilly Wilson, Eva Smith, Celia Potts, Ida (Hawkins) Copeland, Ruby Calderwood, Leah (Swan) Peterson, Lulu Holson, Elena McFarland, Lois Wilson, Nellie Curran, Rose Thompson, Ethel Adams, Eva Beard, Mrs. Alice Fountain, Faith R. Lilly, Roxy Parker, C. E. Marshall.

The present (1906) corps of teachers is as follows: L. T. Hill, superintendent; Katharine Paine, principal high school; Elizabeth Roe and Nora Corette, assistant principals; Nellie Butler, Elsie McElhinney, Lulu Cameron, Zella Cavan, Jessie Frazier.