This school is located on Old Highway Road (old US20) between Epworth and Centralia, 1.6 miles west of Y21. It is at the SE corner of the junction with Dutch Lane Road. There is a cemetery to the south of the building which appears to be much older than the school. The inside has been trashed. You can see that electricity had been brought in at some time, with one old fluorescent fixture remaining.
Looking in the front door towards the back. Noticed the raised platform for the teacher; the blackboard would have been between the two windows.
This next photo is looking in the SE window towards the door.
Photographed 4/1/11
UPDATE 10/13/21: I learned that this school was torn down in 2015 and a memorial was built there with bricks from the building. When I get a chance I will drive up to the Dubuque area and photograph it, including close-ups of the main section with the stories, but for now I was given permission from a photographer to post this photo of the memorial.
Update 11/5/21: We took these photos on 10/30/21 but the sun was almost down by the time we got there so these shots aren’t as sharp as they should be—we will have to drive up there again during the day time!!!
7 comments:
I always wondered the history of this school house. It would seem there should be records somewhere, or who owns the property now. I went to Western Dubuque school district and graduated in 1988. I passed this building riding the bus to and from school everyday. My Sister and I lived on a farm in Centralia, and rode our bikes periodically in old hwy 20 to Epworth. Thanks for the picture memory. Kim
My grandmother and great grandparents lived down the road south from this school house on what is now Highway 20 and Old Dutch Road. When my sister and I would visit, we would arrive before school was out for the summer. It was fun for us to attend this school (in the 1950s) for a week or so as it was so different from our Iowa City schools. The woman across the road would bring water over for us to drink. There was an outhouse and behind the school south was a small cemetery. My great grandparents name was Broessel and my grandma’s married name was Tillie Haas. The farm still appears to be at SW corner of Old Dutch and Highway 20. Some buildings are gone, but it looks like a large pine in front of the house is still there. I understand that it was planted when great-great grandparents came over from Sweden and Scotland and planted it. Loydene Keith
Hi Loydene,
Thank you for that piece of history!
Do you by any chance know what this school was called?
Offhand, I don’t. However, I will look through some old pictures of my Mom’s and see if it might appear with a name on it. The other possibility is that I believe the next farm south belonged to Carl Zauche. (Zow-kee)…now on Zauche Lane. Last I knew, it was still in the family and they may know some history of the school and the area. I can be reached at loydene1@gmail.com. I somehow stumbled onto this and was fascinated.
I just learned today that this school has been torn down and there is a plaque there telling about it. The next time I'm in that area I'll have to photograph the plaque.
Does anyone know who created or organized the information for the plaque?
Anonymous,
The Tri-States’ One Room Schools, by Mike Day (mike.day@thmedia.com, has the following information: Cindy Recker’s father and grandfather attended Johnson, and the family owned the property where the 1866 school stood. By the mid-2010s, though, the building had become a liability. It had structural damage, a leaking roof and two layers of interior bricks that were crumbling. …
The schoolhouse had to be razed, but Recker and her family made sure a number of the outer bricks were saved. She proceeded to research the history of the school and soon was making connections with area business owners on plans for a memorial.
Within two years, enough donations of money and labor had been procure to erect a monument at the site.
Two brick pillars are faced with salvaged bricks, many which contain initials, names and dates etched by schoolchildren from generations past. The structure is topped by a metalwork simulating a gabled roof, from which hangs the school’s original bell, which was located in Marion, Iowa. A display offered the history of the schoolhouse and thanks to those responsible for its commemoration.
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