Many of us are quite sentimental for our school days; going to class reunions or meeting with former classmates over a cup of coffee to regale hilarious and sometimes embarrassing moments from the past.
In light of this curiosity, and to promote more interest in the history of schools, I've decided to regularly feature a school in my posts. One of the more substantial collections at the Lake County Discovery Museum's Archives (now the Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County) is the School Collection. It includes histories for 52 one-room schools, photographs, and board of directors' ledgers for a number of schools.
To start, I've chosen the Swan School in Fremont Township for its somewhat central location.
The Swan School, once located at the southeast corner of Route 83 and Peterson Road, was named for Deacon Swan who donated the land for the school. The naming of schools was often handled in this way.
Swan School, circa 1900. Dunn Museum 81.21
The original Swan School was erected in 1856. By 1861, there were 70 one-room schoolhouses throughout Lake County.
Schools were central to each community. They were often used for church services, since schools were built before churches. Meetings and social gatherings such as dances and spelling bees were also held at the schools.
Miss Josephine Kische (later Ullrich) with her scholars in front of the Swan School's new brick schoolhouse, 1926.
Dunn Museum 81.21
As listed on the back of the photo from left to right: Top row -- "Orphan" from Chicago who lived with a local farmer, Miss Kische, Ethel Meyer. Second row -- Dorothy Radke, Vernon Willard, Mary Fincutter, Anna Fincutter, Edward Fincutter, Jack Zahnle, Margaret Fincutter, Cecelia Grosser, ?? Willard, ?? Willard, Marge Sorenson (later Obenauf). First row -- Helen Radke, Helen Sorenson, Fiester boy, Fiester boy, Willard boy, Willard boy, Billy Meyer, Virginia ??, Fiester girl, Titus girl, Louis Meyer, Virginia Wirtz, Titus girl, Titus girl.
Swan School students, 1953. Dunn Museum 93.6.14
Swan School lintel, circa 1926. Dunn Museum. 95.6.2
For a selection of the Museum’s one-room school histories available online click here.
- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org
8 comments:
You might be interested to know that in the 1953 picture the teacher there is Margaret Obenauf, probably Margaret Sorenson in the 1926 photo. I was a 2nd grade student there in the 53-54 school year.
So nice. Mrs Obenauf was my school teacher when I attended a few of the one-room school houses before they became consolidated schools. Fremont Consolidated School dist when I was 1/2 way through 3rd grade. I even have my report cards. She was actually my 1st grade teacher in about 1955. I went to Swan, Murray and one other. At Swan School Miss Lyons was my teacher. I loved going to school where we had a cloak room and especially loved recess. There was an art class that I remember drawing the grove of trees south of Swan School right at Winchester Rd and 83. That grove of trees (oaks) still stands these many years ago.
My Gould ancestor donated a school in about the same area. This picture really looks like Gould School. Do you have any info on the Gould School. It took us over a year to find it.
Hello Cathy,
We have a Gould School history written by students in 1918 in our archives. It's available online: http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/lakecoun001/id/2602/rec/25
The Gould School is a similar style to the Swan School, but Gould has a roof overhang over the front entrance and porch.
Please email me if you need further assistance: ddretske@lcfpd.org.
Thanks for reading!
Diana
Several of the names listed in this article, and listing the children in the photo, are buried in the Ivanhoe Cemetery on route 176, immediately west to Ivanhoe Congregational Church. I’ve been cleaning some of the older grave stones; there are several Swans buried there. Other prominent names in Fremont and Liberty Township history are Wirtz, Gould, and Hurlbutt. There are several Civil War veterans, including a Confederate soldier.
Dave S.,
Ivanhoe Cemetery is also one of my favorite local cemeteries. So much history there, including the Joice Family.
Thanks for commenting.
Diana Dretske
ddretske@lcfpd.org
I only recently "discovered" the Ivanhoe Congregational Church and its cemetery after stumbling onto the story of the Joice family. I visited the cemetery the other day to visit the Joice graves. It's heartwarming to know that such a racially progressive spirit has historically driven the church, located in an area not necessarily known for progressive attitudes. The church's website seems to affirm the continuation of that racial and gender-orientation progressivism.
Might the Virginia Wirtz pictured in the 1926 school photo be a member of the wealthy Wirtz family (Chicago Blackhawks)? The family owns the nearby Ivanhoe Nursery, and there is a large collection of Wirtz family members buried in the church cemetery.
Dave S. (above) mentioned a Confederate soldier buried in the cemetery—I did encounter a grave of a soldier whose tombstone said he died at Camp Douglas, the infamous POW camp on Chicago's South Side located on land owned by Stephen A. Douglas, where thousands died due to neglect. While I couldn't discern it from the tombstone, I assumed the soldier was a Confederate as a result of him dying at Camp Douglas.
Hello David,
Thank you for your comments.
Virginia Wirtz is a cousin to the wealthy sports Wirtz family. Virginia's grandfather, August Wirtz was the brother of Frederick C. Wirtz whose son, Arthur M. Wirtz (1901-1983) founded the Wirtz Corp and owned the Chicago Blackhawks, etc.
I am not aware of a Confederate soldier buried at Ivanhoe Cemetery. There is a Union soldier, William A. Payne (1838-1862), who enlisted with the 51st Illinois Infantry, who died at Camp Douglas in Chicago. Camp Douglas was founded in 1861 as a Union training camp. When Payne died their from "camp disease" in January 1862 it was not yet a prisoner-of-war camp. In February 1862, Camp Douglas began to accept Confederate prisoners.
Please email me with any questions ddretske@lcfpd.org.
Thank you!
Diana
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