One-room Schoolhouses, Butler County

One-room Schoolhouses, Butler County Kansas. 

As I discover new ones, I will add them to the list.

1. Ellet School located in Latham, formerly located 8 miles west of Latham.
2.Van Huss School, located on Route 2 off of Highway 400 and north towards El Dorado.

This 1905 map showing the townships of Butler County is online at KanasMemory.org. There are literally hundreds of schools identified throughout the many townships. Geneology Trails lists the schools for convenience. Sadly, most of the one room schools do not exist today.

Of course, someone had to pay for these schools. In the early days, the land for the school was set aside by the community as it was organized. Sometimes, the land was donated by a local farmer. Some early schools were by subscription from the families, but eventually school districts were formed and the schoolhouse, its upkeep, the books and teacher's salary were all paid for by local property taxes.

The period around the Second World War saw the consolidation of many of the school districts in order to save tax dollars. The advent of the automobile made transportation to schools an easier matter. Thus, the era of the one room school was at an end.
 
Kathryn Berger (Alley), born in 1891, grew up in Douglass, Kansas and, during the early 1920's, taught in the Superior school, northeast of Rosehill, and Pleasant Center school, township of Pleasant. She was paid the princessly sum of $40 a month and, like many other single female teachers, lived with a neighbor during the school year. Again, like many single female teachers, she married and raised a family.

An early history of education in Douglass Kansas is available online at William G. Cutler's, History of the State of Kansas. The portion on Douglass Kansas is reprinted here:

The educational history of Douglass Begins with the spring of 1870, when Miss Stine, now Mrs. George L. Fox, taught a subscription school. A district school house was built in 1871, at a cost of $3,000, and school taught that year by Miss Alma Henderson, now Mrs. Neil Wilkie, who also taught in 1872. From that point to 1876, the records fail to give the names of the teachers employed, the first entry after 1872 being that recording the engagement of Prof. J. W. Shively, who taught in 1876-77; J. C. Elliott taught in 1878-79; H. S. Hulse, in 1880; A. Gridley in 1881, and T. Schumaker in 1882. The school now numbers nearly 200 scholars, and has so far outgrown the school building as to necessitate the renting of two rooms in town, and the employment of four teachers.

Butler County, Part 11, Douglass

Superior School, located in north west Butler County in Richland Township outside the city of Whitewater, was created in 1872. It's exact location is at "R3E, T29S, Sec 5, NE ¼; Consol. w/ #120 Floral".

The Pleasant Center School, located in south west Butler County, the present city of Rose Hill, was created in July of 1892. It is located at "R3E, T28S, Sec 23, SE ¼; Consol. w/ #110 Rose Hill".

Butler County Rural Schools, 1854 - 1966
contains a complete list of Butler County schools and their locations.