One Room Schoolhouses
As the 19th Century continued, more settlers came into the area and the need for schools became apparent. Between 1844 and 1899 thirteen one-room schools that would one day become Lincoln Consolidated School District. The names and dates of those schools were:
- Model – 1844
- Island – 1847
- Redner – 1850
- Lowden – 1853
- Brick – 1860
- Allen – 1860
- Tuttle – 1862
- Morgan – 1863
- Hardy – 1866
- Childs – 1867
- Bishop – 1869
- Centennial – 1876
- Vedder – 1899
Only grades one through eight were offered due to the general belief that education obtained through eight grades of the “3R’s” was adequate for the future farm careers of most of the children. Each school district had their own elected Board which hired the teacher and oversaw the building and grounds.
Teachers were usually contracted for one year and college certification was not required.
Lowden school, on the Lincoln campus, is one of the original one-room schools. It operated from 1853 to 1924. It was renovated and moved to its current site in 1990. Elementary students experience how a typical school day would have been for a family member of long ago.
