My guess follows the sentiments of Vol. P. Mooney, who wrote an early history of Butler County.The settlers who came in their Prairie Schooners, had little money to their name and much hope. They were enterprising. They had to be for they had to outwit the weather, the prairie fires, and the grasshoppers. Settling the land was not an easy thing and after the crops were planted one of the first things settlers did was to build a one room school and educate their children, hoping for a better tomorrow.
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| Enterprise school, Hickory Twp, Butler Co., Ks. |
The school was built in 1883 and here we have the winter class of 1893-94 taught by F. M. Leatherman. I feel a little sorry for Walter Seymor, the boy who is standing off to the right side of the class picture.
The earliest settlers on these Osage Trust Lands arrived in 1868 and took up claims on Hickory Creek. Hickory Township was organized in 1875. W. S. and C. W. Buskirk, acted as county surveyors. They had several children in the 1893-94 class.
District school no. 143 was located on the Dennis homestead adjacent to the Southerland property in the southeast corner of Hickory Township. Hickory Township itself is in the southeastern part of Butler County, south of Beaumont.
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| southeast Butler County, Kansas 1885 |
Mooney's History of Butler County, Kansas
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| Enterprise school, no. 143, Butler County, Kansas |
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