ORIGINS

I grew up in a small Ohio town and I rode the school bus from 1st through 12th grades. My bus ride always included a country road on which every school day we saw a one-room brick school house. (SW corner of Stine Rd and Enon-Xenia Pike). As the years went by I watched this wonderful, familiar friend fall apart. After I married the school really began to deteriorate. Every time we visited the area I would want to take a photo of the school but never did. Finally, when we went specifically for the task, the school was gone. It was a huge loss for me and, since that time, whenever we pass a one-room school it is a joy to stop to take a picture or two. Thus, our collection here and the blog with schools in other states. Jill :oD

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Monmouth #9, Watson School

On State Route 64 about 2 miles east of Baldwin, at address 8484, NW corner of 84th Ave. Residence.   It was exactly 2 miles west of South Fork #?  Built in 1930; see comment below for more information.


Photographed on 10/8/14

3 comments:

Mercado's Life Lessons said...

This school is Watson School. Watson was located in Monmouth Township in section 24. The new school was built in 1930 and had running water. It was also known as Monmouth #9. It was a white school house located on the top of a hill on Highway 64 between Maquoketa and Baldwin. Watson School has undergone many changes over the years. It went from humble beginnings to the Cadillac of the country school in later years. By 1956 it had a television, a large trophy case, a big sand box used for building dioramas and doing various other projects. There were also two indoor restrooms. In the school yard, children enjoyed swings, teeter-totters and a large baseball diamond. Track meets were started by Earl Bock.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Thank you so much for that great information! As soon as I get a chance tomorrow, I will incorporate some of this in the article.

Karmen Farrington said...

My mother Lillian Fuglsang taught at Watson school around 1941 or 1942. She also taught at Chattanooga country school about that same time. She had taken a picture of her students at Chattanooga school and has names of the students on the back. Another photo is a brother and sister taken in front of the country school, either Watson school or Chattanooga, and their names also are
on the back.