One-Room, Country, & Historic Schools of Chase County

Bazaar School

Bazaar, Kansas. In 1917, the town’s third schoolhouse was built next to the old stone schoolhouse, which had served so well for many years. Built at a cost of about $4,000. It has two large schoolrooms, a library, two vestibules, two washrooms, and a kitchen. The school was dedicated on November 9, 1917. It is utilized as a community center today.

Cottonwood Falls Grade School

The old Cottonwood Falls Grade School is at 401 Maple Street in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. The two-and-a-half-story stone building was built in three stages: the original 1904 building, an addition in 1915, and a second addition for a gymnasium in 1963. The school continued to operate until 2010 when it became a victim of consolidation, and its students were sent to the grade school in nearby Strong City. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 28, 2021.

Elmdale School

The Elmdale Elementary School is a two-story limestone building that retains its historic wood windows and rectangular stone lintels and sills. The bell tower was removed sometime before 1975.

Elmdale Auditorium

Next door is a brick auditorium that was built in 1915. The school is located at 200 Campbell in Elmdale, Kansas.

Lower Fox Creek School

In 1878, residents of the Fox Creek area decided to form a school district. Stephen F. Jones donated the site for the schoolhouse. The first school term began on September 1, 1884, with Dora Peer as the teacher. The average enrollment was between 1 and 19 students of all grades. The school was closed in 1930, and the district was disbanded in 1946-47. The schoolhouse and its grounds reverted to the adjoining ranch at that time. Today, the school is part of the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve. The school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at 2480B Kansas Hwy 177, north of Strong City.

Old Matfield Green Grade School

The old Matfield Green Grade School is a one-story brick Tudor Revival-style U-shaped building with pavilion wings on the west and east. In April 2019, the School for Rural Culture and Creativity Inc. acquired this building and incorporated it as a non-profit the following year. Improvements since then include new electrical panels and additional electrical repair, major roof repair, masonry work, exterior door replacement/repair, new gymnasium windows and frames, new track lighting, new swings for the playground, landscaping, painting, and plenty of scrubbing, weeding, and more. Several current and developing projects include maintaining playgrounds and open green spaces, developing a printmaking/artist studio for resident and visiting artists, studio space, exhibition space, native landscaping, a children’s playroom and reading area, and more. It is located on Bocock Street in Matfield Green, Kansas.

Old Mattfield Green Gym

The old Matfield Green High School Gymnasium is a Progressive Era two-story red brick building designed in the Late 19th & 20th Century Classical Revival style for the Rural High School (1927), which has since been demolished. It is well-lit by windows and includes limestone accents throughout the exterior. An arched entryway leads into a vestibule with two stairways, one on each end, that lead to three small upstairs rooms. The smaller-than-regulation basketball court provides minimal room for spectators, but the stage is amply outfitted for dramatic productions. Directly beneath the stage are two locker rooms with toilets and showers. This vacant building is at 408 Bocook Street in Matfield Green, Kansas.

School #46

This rectangular limestone rectangular one and a half story building was built in the commercial style and has a gable front roof. It has two outbuildings. The building has been restored, modified, and modernized. It is located at 2243 U Road in Strong City, Kansas.

Wonsevu School

This one-story rectangular wood frame school was built in the vernacular style with a gable roof. The vacant building sits at the northeast corner of E Road and Cedar Creek Road in the extinct town of Wonsevu, Kansas, 20 miles southwest of Cottonwood Falls.