(The original article was written by D.A. VAUGHN, a long-time resident of Ringgold County.)

I remember when Benton was a village and the people of Benton decided to set up a school of their own. They set up a territory of two square miles of land from Rice and Benton townships and built a two-room schoolhouse about 1897 or 1898, with Dr. TURNER as the first teacher. A good school was maintaine going to the eighth grade.

Miss Etta RAINS, daughter of Asa RAINS, taught there from 1898 to 1899. She received a salary of $25.00 per month and wrote that the average cost of tuition per month for each student was 96-cents.

The people of Benton, seeing a need for a high school, voted to incorporate into a consolidated school district.

A new board of education was elected, consisting of S.S. HALL, W.T. HALEY, C.D. NICKLES, Frank RYCHNOVSKY, and D.A. VAUGHN. George BARTLES was treasurer and W.S. MONGER served as secretary. S.S. HALL was elected president of the board. To finance the building program, bonds were voted and sold. The building was built by the firm of Wagonut and Walter of St. Joseph, Missouri, and was completed in 1916. Mr. FARMER was the first superintendent.

Benton graduated 236 students from 1919 to 1958.

The first class consisted of Zetha GERMAN BAILY, Beatrice LANDIS LUYBEN, Earl MICHAEL, Ester WALLACE, DIXON, Madge WALLACE DIXON, and Dr. Lewis RYCHNOVSKY.

The last class, graduated in 1958, included Anna WILSON, Daisey WILSON, Mary Ann HERRINGTON, Shirley GRAHAM, and Larry BLUNCK.

Due to declining population and overwhelming financial problems, Benton was forced to close its high school. We reorganized and our high school attended Mount Ayr and the fifth and sixth grades attended Benton.

Later the school building was condemned as unsafe, and rather than see it used as storage, the community decided to bulldoze and bury the building.

I'm sure that the Benton students will always remember our school with gratitude and affection.

SOURCE: 1887 - Benton, Iowa Centennial - 1987. p. 121. Courtesy of Mount Ayr Public Library, Mount Ayr IA

Transcriptions and notes by Sharon R. Becker, October of 2012

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