Schoolboys in Marion County, Kansas.
We cross the prairies, as of old
The Fathers crossed the sea,
To make the West, as they the East,
The homestead of the free.
“We come to plant the common schools
On distant prairie swells,
And give the Sabbaths of the Wild
The music of their bells.
— John Whittier
Students in Hoxie, Kansas.
The first schools in Kansas were the mission schools for the Indians. When Kansas was organized as a Territory, and the white settlers began to make their homes here, their children’s education became one of their first interests. In the summer of 1855, the first Territorial Legislature passed a law providing for establishing common schools, thus laying the foundation for our public school system.
In January 1855, when Lawrence, Kansas, was only six months old, a school was opened in the back of Dr. Charles Robinson’s office in the town. In the early years, due to the violence of Bleeding Kansas, most schools were subscription schools that were not publicly funded but paid for by tuition charged to each pupil who attended.
By 1859, when Territorial conditions had become more settled, the Legislature passed a set of school laws that served as the basis of education in Kansas. Afterward, a few school districts were organized, and schoolhouses were built, with the minimum school term designated at three months.
Over the next century, white frame or native stone one-room schoolhouses dotted the Kansas landscape.
They were called names like Prairie Flower, Bazaar, Rocky Glen, and Good Intent. The children who attended ranged in age from five to 21 and endured the difficulties of frontier Kansas, including prairie fires, cattle drives, and dust storms, to get an eighth-grade education. They traveled to school on foot, on horseback, or in a wagon. Many students were foreigners who quickly learned to speak, read, spell, and write English.
Although the minimum term was three months, it was usually made a little longer for the benefit of the younger children. Generally, the older boys and girls went to school only during the winter when they could be spared from farm work. Students worked as far as possible each year, continuing where they left off in the following school session. Many continued until they were 18 to 21 years old or even older. At that time, there were no graduating from country schools — students attended until they were ready to quit.
School teacher, 1943.
The school teacher, sometimes not much older than her students, also served as a nurse, janitor, musician, sports instructor, and more for less than $50 a month. Equipped with little more than a blackboard and a few textbooks, teachers passed on to their students knowledge of the “three Rs” — reading, writing, arithmetic, and cultural values.
These were often called “home schoolhouses,” meaning that the school was in the school district where they resided. It was not uncommon for the family who sold the land for the school to often live adjacent to the property and provide room and board for the teacher. Because the schoolhouse was usually located on one of the better roads, someone usually tried to set up a country store near the school.
The nearby store was a dynamic addition to the activities centered around the school. Area residents would trade butter, cream, eggs, bacon, fresh-killed game, hides, and furs to the local store for credit. The store owner often ran a freighting business, bringing mail-order goods from larger towns. He also brought back the area’s mail, newspapers, magazines, and gossip. These country stores often became the center of the economic community, drawing in other retail operations and services.
The schoolhouse was often the social and political center of the school district. The playground often had a baseball diamond where the locals played, and the school building served as a meeting center for various causes and events. These included a polling center, club meetings, and recreational events and celebrations such as harvest festivals, holiday celebrations, amateur theatricals, and musical recitals. Some schools also served church congregations.
School playground by Arthur Rothstein, 1942.
By the turn of the century, the population shifted to the cities, and country schools began to lose students and tax support. By that time, one-room schools could not hope to compete against larger, better-equipped schools in the cities. Additionally, these rural schools had problems retaining teachers from year to year because of low pay and declining student enrollment. With better roads and automobiles, school consolidation led to the first wave of elimination of one-room schools, often after a bitter debate that pitted farmers against town citizens.
One-room schools struggled through the Great Depression. After World War II, many were eliminated as mobility became more common and mechanization increased farm size. This reduced the number of farms, and people began to migrate to the cities. Half of Kansas‘ one-room schools were closed between 1945 and 1950.
In the following years, school districts consolidated, pooling their resources to provide more teachers, broader curriculums, and opportunities for extracurricular activities. With the unification of school districts, one-room schools were abandoned.
In some cases, the schools were auctioned off and converted into homes. If the building was on farmland, farmers would often burn the structure to reclaim the land for farms or pastures. Other schoolhouses, however, wasted away over time and weather.
By 1966, the one-room country school had become a thing of the past.
However, there have been various projects to preserve the memory of these one-room schools, many of which have been preserved by local landowners, community groups, and museums.
| Name | District | County | Years of Operation | Location & Information |
| Selma | ?? | Anderson | 1921-1964 |
 Selma This one-story T-shaped building was erected with brown tile brick with stone in the Craftsman/Bungalow style. It has a deck-on-hip roof with water course sills and lintels, with a west façade portico entrance with a gable overhang. The school was closed and consolidated with the elementary school in Kincaid in 1964. Vacant today, it is located on Wabaunsee Road in the extinct town of Selma, Kansas. |
| Welda | ?? | Anderson | 1926-1873 |
 Old Welda School This one-story rectangular red brick building was designed in the commercial style with a gable red tile roof. After it closed in 1873, it was utilized as a flea market. Located at SW 1000 Road in Welda, Kansas, it appears to be abandoned today. |
| Willow Branch | ?? | Anderson | 1900 |
 Old Willow Branch School This one-story rectangular wood frame school was designed in the vernacular style with four-inch clapboards, a gable roof, and a hip entrance extension on the West façade. There is an old outhouse southeast of the school. It is located on Vermont Road in Bush City, Kansas. |
| Atchison County Schools | Various | Atchison | 1871-Present | The graded course of study pursued in the public schools is in accord with the most advanced methods adopted in the East, with a certain program of work to be accomplished annually being strictly carried out by the teachers of the different grades. Besides the Superintendent of City Schools and Principal of the High School, 29 regular and two substitute teachers are employed to maintain public education in Atchison. The average daily attendance in May 1882 was 1,886 out of a total enrollment of 2,310. |
| Lake City Rural High School | ?? | Barber | 1920-?? |
 Lake City School This two-story rectangular building made of red brick was built in a commercial/colonial Gothic style. This vacant, deteriorating building has most of its glass missing, the roof is gone, and the structure is open to the elements. It is located at 14122 River Road in Lake City, Kansas. |
| Sun City Gymnasium | ?? | Barber | 1951-?? |
 Sun City Gymnasium This large rectangular building, designed in the commercial style with a corrugated gable metal roof, is used today as a community center/sports facility. The gymnasium has tongue-and-groove yellow pine walls, a full-size court with seating for 800, built-in team benches, and a scorer’s table. The original school building was torn down, and only the flagpole and playground equipment, other than the gymnasium, remain. It is located at the northeast corner of Washington Avenue and Walnut Street in Sun City, Kansas. |
| Great Bend | 50 | Barton | 1874-?? |
 Several old buildings in the area have been rescued and moved to the Barton County Museum in Great Bend, Kansas, by Kathy Alexander. This one-story rectangular wood-frame school has a gable roof with a brick chimney and bell tower. This schoolhouse is at the Barton County Historical Society Museum & Village, 85 S. Highway 281, Great Bend, Kansas. It was moved to this site in 1958. |
| Hoisington | 19 | Barton | 1940-Present |
 Hoisington, High School Hosigington High School, located at 218 E 7th Street in Hoisington, Kansas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2005. The three-story blond brick building, with a stone central entry, has a gymnasium on one end and an auditorium on the other. The Works Progress Administration built it from 1937 to 1940. Early additions included a wood shop on the rear of the gym, an art room, and locker rooms. |
| Olmitz | NA | Barton | 1903-1976 |
 St. Ann’s School St. Ann’s Parochial School began operating grades one through eight in 1903, with the Sisters Adorers of the Most Precious Blood from Wichita providing the teaching staff throughout the operation of St. Ann’s school. Both the church and school burned in 1913 and were rebuilt. High school classes began in 1927 and ended with the graduating class of 1949. Until 1976, the school still provided schooling from grades one to eight. In 1976, due to a shortage of teaching sisters, St. Ann’s was informed that the Precious Blood Community would not be able to provide teaching sisters for the following year. After much soul-searching and many hours of considering alternative solutions, the parish succumbed to the closing of its school. |
| Bourbon County Schools | Various | Bourbon | 1866-1966 | In 1882, the student population was 7,866 – males, 3,995; females, 3,871. The number of pupils enrolled was 2,921 males and 3,089 females. The number of different teachers employed during the year was 150; the average wages of males were $34.27, and females were $30.86. There are 100 schoolhouses in the county- two brick, three stone, and ninety-five frame. In the district school libraries, there were 350 volumes. The value of school property in the county is estimated at $89,672, and the total value of all school property in the county is $100,000. |
| Brown County Schools | Various | Brown | 1869-1965 | In 1881, the number of students enrolled in school in Brown County, Kansas, was 4,067, with 125 teachers. |
| Butler County Schools | Various | Butler | 1871-1967 | |
| Chase County Schools | Various | Chase | 1884- | The school population in 1882 was 2,140. The number of school visitations by the superintendent in 1882 was 73. There were 44 School Districts in the county, three of which were joint with Lyon, one with Morris, and one with Marion County. |
| Chautauqua County | ?? | Chautauqua | 1900 |
 Chautauga County Old School This one-story L-shaped brick building was designed in the vernacular style with a hip roof with lower cross gables. The vacant deteriorated building is located on 5 Road in the Cedar Vale vicinity. |
| Chautauqua County | 50? | Chautauqua | ?? |
 Chautauqua County School This one-story rectangular stone school was designed in the vernacular style with a gable metal roof. Serving as a residence today, it is located at 899 26 Road in the vicinity of Peru. |
| Chautauqua County | 6? | Chautauqua | ?? |
 Chautauga County School This one-story rectangular stone school was built in the vernacular style with a gable roof. It may be school district #6, but it needs to be verified. The deteriorated vacant building is at the intersection of Lariat Road and Road 27 in the Monett vicinity. |
| Newlon | 88 | Chautauqua | 1913-?? |
 Newlon School Newlon School served local students in grades 1-8. The one-room rectangular wood-frame school with a smaller gable-front entry room was built in the vernacular style. The address is 1491 Road 23, Sedan, Kansas, but it is closer to Grafton. |
| Silver Prairie | ?? | Chautauqua | 1911-?? |
 Silver Prairie School This one-story rectangular stone building with a hip roof was designed in the vernacular style. The deteriorated building is vacant today. It is located on 11 Road 11 near Sedan, Kansas. |
| Spring Branch | ?? | Chautauqua | 1930s-1945 |
 Spring Branch School The Spring Branch school was a one-room, five-month subscription country school built in the 1930s. The building also served as a community meeting place. The school was consolidated with Cedar Vale in 1945. Afterward, it was used by the 4-H club. Today, the roof is collapsing, and the building is falling into ruins. It is located two miles east of Cedar Vale on private property, just north of Highway 166. |
| St. Charles | 58 | Chautauqua | 1874-1946 |
 St. Charles School This rectangular wood-frame vernacular-style gable-front roof school was built in 1874 and remodeled in 1942, adding a cloakroom on the east and south exits. The school was also used for social gatherings, church services, funerals, and polling places. The school closed in 1946 and was moved to Sedan in 1990. Today, it functions as the Chamber of Commerce office. It is located at 188 N. Sherman Street in Sedan, Kansas. |
| Cherokee County Schools | Cherokee | 1879-1970 | In 1904, Cherokee County had 120 public schools outside of the cities. At that time, there were 14 schools in the cities. These were distributed uniformly over the county so that no community within its borders could be found without a schoolhouse. Several remain today. See HERE. | |
| St. Francis | ?? | Cheyenne | ?? |
 Old St. Francis School This old school is a one-story wood-frame Vernacular-style T-shaped building with a gable roof. Owned by the First Baptist Church, it is located at Webster and Denison Streets in St. Francis, Kansas. |
| Union | 1 | Clark | 1940 |
 Englewood School This Art Deco-style building was erected in 1940 by the Works Progress Administration and Union School District No. 1. This rectangular-shaped red brick building with a limestone entry with a central gymnasium with a gable roof has its original multipaned steel windows, replacement doors, and concrete piers on the north and south sides of the building. There is a small brick addition on the south side. It is now utilized as a Community Center. It is located at 510 Hatfield Road in Englewood, Kansas. |
| Ashland | ?? | Clark | 1837 |
 Ashland Grade School Constructed in 1937 through the federal Public Works Administration, the Ashland Grade School was designed in the Classical Revival style. It reflects the evolution of traditional Progressive Era schools with its main formal entrance and provisional additions of an auditorium, music room, and library. Kindergarten is held in a commercial building across the street southeast of the school. It was nominated as part of the “Historic Public Schools of Kansas” multiple property listing to the National Register of Historic Places in November 2005. It is located at 210 W 7th Street in Ashland, Kansas. |
| Sitka | ?? | Clark | 1920-?? |
 Sitka School The old Sitka school is a one-story rectangular wood-frame building designed in the vernacular style with a hip roof. Once used as a cafe, it is now vacant on the west side of Highway 183 in Sitka, Kansas. |
| Clay County Schools | Various | Clay | 1878-1966 | By 1881, there were 84 schoolhouses with 145 teachers. At that time, there were 95 districts or one for every 140 inhabitants. The first schoolhouse cost about $50; the last, that of Clay Center, cost $25,000. From a school population of about 24 when the first school was taught, it increased in 16 years to about 5,000. |
| Clyde | ?? | Cloud | 1924-?? |
 Clyde School This two-and-a-half-story Collegiate Gothic Revival style began to be built in 1917 and was finished in 1924. Clyde School originated from plans of Wichita-based architect Lorentz Schmidt, who was widely known for his designs of public schools. The need for a new school building in Clyde resulted from a fire in 1916 that destroyed the previous building. Cost constraints and economic uncertainties brought about by the country’s entry into World War I led the town’s school board to take a cautious approach to the building project. As a result, the building was erected in two phases. The building was rehabilitated into apartments in 2010, using State and Federal tax credits. It was listed on the National Register in January 2009. It is located at 620 Broadway Street in Clyde, Kansas. |
| Morgan Chapel School | 40 | Cloud |
 Morgan Chapel School  Morgan Chapel School This octagon-shaped Italianate-style building was originally wood-clad with a conical roof and bell tower/cupola. The one-and-a-half story is now covered in corrugated metal siding and is utilized as a grain bin. It is located at the Northeast corner of 230th Road (County Road 803) and Quail Road (County Road 362) near Ames, Kansas. |
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| No. 59 School | ?? | Cloud | 1910-?? |
 No. 59 School No. 59 School was erected just south of Ames, Kansas, in 1910. |
| Silver Arrow Grade School | ?? | Cloud | 1880-?? |
 Silver Arrow Grade School This one-story rectangular wood-frame building was designed in the vernacular style with a pyramid roof and east and south-facing entries. A flagpole and playground equipment stand southeast of the building, and an outhouse is to the northwest. It was once used as a community center and 4H building but is vacant today. It is located at 295 Milo Road in the Concordia vicinity. |
| Protection High School | Comanche |
 Protection High School  Protection High School Gym This two-story red brick L-shaped building was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style with a truncated hip roof. Stone detailing accents the red brick, and it has its original clay tile roof. Projecting end wings intersect the gable and one-story projecting hex bay on the front. It has three Gothic arches with recessed doors. The original 1970s gym on the Southeast is intact. It was connected to Grade School to the north in the mid-1980s. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2005 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas nomination. It is located at 400 S. Jefferson Street in Protection, Kansas. |
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| Cowley County Schools | Various | Cowley | 1880-1964 |
 The 1890 high school. In 1872, there were 77 organized districts and 16 schoolhouses, many neatly built and well-furnished. In 1875, there were 108 districts, with 58 schoolhouses; in 1880, 125 districts, with 108 schoolhouses; in 1890, 150 districts and 150 schoolhouses, having 175 rooms, with belongings, all valued at $126,450, employing 191 teachers, enrolling 6,590 scholars, expending for the support of schools, $70,000. This was exclusive to the two cities of the second class. Today, there are five school districts in Cowley County. |
| Cato | 04 | Crawford | 1869-1955 |
 Cato School Cato was founded in 1854 at the northern edge of the Cherokee Neutral Lands, now Crawford County. A stone school built in 1869 that still stands after serving as a schoolhouse and a meeting house until 1955. The Cato Historical Preservation Association maintains the school. Never a large town, Cato’s population peaked in 1910 with 112 residents. |
| Green Elm | 41 | Crawford | 1872-1955 |
 Green Elm School Green Elm School, District 41, is in Pittsburg, Kansas. The school was relocated to this location and is part of the Crawford County Historical Museum. It was initially located in the southwest corner of Crawford County, seven miles north and one mile west of McCune, Kansas. School classes were held from 1872 to 1955 and employed 66 different teachers. The school’s name was based on an elm tree near the school. The museum is located at 651 S. Highway 69 in Pittsburg. |
| Washington Grade School | 49 | Crawford | 1938-?? |
 Washington Grade School Partially funded by the Public Works Administration, the Washington Grade School was designed by Thomas W. Williamson & Company of Topeka, a firm widely known for its design of schools in Kansas. This school was probably constructed as part of the same project that included the addition to Roosevelt Middle School. The project received $117,000 in funds, which were matched by $128,000 raised through municipal bonds. The same architect designed both buildings. W.K. Martin Construction Company of Kansas was the builder. This T-shaped one-story brick building was designed in the Colonial Revival style with a complex hip roof with short cross-hip wings that project slightly beyond the North and South ends of the main block. The arched entrance is centered in the West façade of the main block below a small wood cupola with a copper roof centered on the ridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2008 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas nomination. Standing vacant today at 209 South Locust Street in Pittsburg, Kansas, it has been threatened with demolition. |
| Zion Lutheran School | 118 | Crawford | ?? | This old clapboard school serves as a community building today. It is located at 401 Bredehoeft Road in Brazilton, Kansas. |
| Dickinson County Schools | Various | Dickinson | 1855-1967 | In the early 1880s, the educational interests of the county were in keeping with the general progress and advancement of the other interests of the county. The schoolhouses were all in good condition, and the sites were fenced. The school interiors were well-seated and well-supplied with maps, charts, globes, dictionaries, and other school apparatus. In 1882, there were 112 school districts in the county and 114 schoolhouses, of which three were constructed of brick, eight of stone, and 103 of wood. The school population of the county in 1882, between the ages five and twenty-one years, was 5,503, divided as to sex into 2,833 males and 2,670 females. |
| Doniphan County Schools | Various | Doniphan | 1873-1968 | For the year ending June 30, 1892: School population between 5 and 21 years, 4,716; number of different students enrolled, 3,537; average daily attendance, 2,108; number of districts organized, 69; number of clerks reporting, 68; number of teachers, male 41, female 46, total 87. |
| Douglas County Schools | Various | Douglas | 1866-1966 | At one time, there were 84 organized districts in Douglas County. With a few exceptions, most were one-room buildings that served as community centers, church meeting places, and classrooms. The county also boasted a shorthand institute, a business college, three high schools, an academy, and three universities. Today, numerous old and historic schools continue to stand in Douglas County. See them HERE. |
| Elk County Schools | Various | Elk | 1873-1964 | In 1882, the report of the County Superintendent stated that the number of school-age children was 4,150. Of these, 2,025 were male, and 2,125 were female. There were 75 schoolhouses in the county, and four districts had no schoolhouses. |
| Blue Hill | ?? | Ellis | ?? |
 Blue Hill School At the intersection of Severin Road & 370th Ave in Ellis County. |
| Washington Grade School | ?? | Ellis | 1926-2016 |
 Old Washington Grade School The brick school is situated on a 2.8-acre block and consists of four main sections: the original building (1926), two historic additions (1931, 1951), and one non-historic addition (1994). The original portion of Washington Grade School is a two-story I-form building that houses most of the school’s classroom facilities. Like other city-graded schools constructed during the Progressive Era, this portion of Washington Grade School is a rectangular brick Commercial-style building with modest Tudor Revival references and a symmetrical primary (southeast) facade. A brick gymnasium was added to the center of the northwestern portion of the building in 1931. The gymnasium exhibits simpler exterior detailing than the 1926 school. In 1951, a two-story brick addition was also joined to the northwest elevation, affording two extra classrooms and a basement with a kitchen and cafeteria space. The 1994 addition, located on the west side of the school, is a one-story brick building housing office space and two classrooms. The addition’s exterior demonstrates modest stylistic references to detailing found on the 1926 building. The school retains a high degree of historic integrity. The facility is an excellent example of a city-graded school property type constructed during the Progressive Era. Built during a period of rising student enrollment, the construction of Washington Grade School alleviated the growing Hays School District in the 1920s. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2021 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas. The nominated property contains one contributing building and three non-contributing resources: a metal storage shed, a gazebo, and a sculpted memorial. After the school closed, it was sold. The buyer received federal and state tax credits for the remodeling project, which had to follow strict guidelines due to the building’s historic status.StonePost Lofts apartments opened in 2022, and all 18 apartments were leased the first day they became available. It is located at 305 Main Street in Hays, Kansas. |
| Plymouth | ?? | Ellis | 1874-1936 |
 Plymouth School German settlers built this schoolhouse in Russell County in the 1870s. It was moved to the Fort Hays State University campus in the fall of 1977. |
| Rural District U-1 | ?? | Ellis | 1939 |
 Rural District U-1 School This one-story T-shaped stone building was designed in the vernacular style with a hip roof with lower cross gables. Serving as a private residence today, it is located at 1204 Antonino Road in the extinct town of Antonino in Ellis County, Kansas. |
| St. Catherine Parochial School | NA | Ellis | 1902 |
 Catherine Parochial School This two-story rectangular native limestone building designed in the Italianate style has a hip roof with steep gable dormers in the center of each façade. The school was built by the church but was leased to USD 489 for public elementary school until 2000. The church now uses it for parish activities. It is located at 2131 St. Anthony Street in Catherine, Kansas. |
| Ellsworth County Schools | Various | Ellsworth | 1912-1998 |
 Old High School in Ellsworth County. In 1882, the number of schoolchildren enrolled then was nearly a hundred less than the number enrolled in 1881. This indicated a decrease in population, which was accounted for by the fact that parties coming into the county were desirous of establishing extensive ranches and buying out the settlers who moved away. These transactions chiefly took place in the eastern portion of the county, and in 1881, two school districts, in which there were about 50 school children, were, in this manner, completely wiped out. The school population of the county in 1882, between the ages of five and twenty-one years, was 2,971, with 1,546 males and 1,425 females. |
| Garden City High School | ?? | Finney | 1910-?? |
 Old Garden City High School This T-shaped three-story brick building was built in the Late 19th & 20th Century Classical Revival style with a flat roof and parapet. It was named Sabine Hall in 1925 for Dr. Andrew Sabine, an active community leader and strong supporter of schools; its construction was made possible in no small part through his support. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 1996. It now serves as Sabine Hall apartments. It is located at 201 Buffalo Jones Avenue in Garden City, Kansas. |
| Garden City | ?? | Finney | 1880? |
 Old Garden City School This rectangle one-story rectangular building has a gable roof. Serving as a dwelling today, it is located at 308 S. 7th Street in Garden City, Kansas. |
| Bloom Rural High School | ?? | Ford | 1936-?? |
 Bloom School Auditorium  Bloom School Site The Bloom Rural High School Auditorium was built by the Works Progress Administration from 1935 to 1936 at a cost of about $10,897. Deteriorating badly, it is located at 200 East Street in the ghost town of Bloom, Kansas. |
| Saint Mary of the Plains – Hennessy Hall | NA | Ford | 1952-?? |
 Hennessy Hall Hennessy Hall, built in 1952, was the original structure on the new Saint Mary of the Plains campus in Dodge City, Kansas. The campus was relocated when it was rebuilt after the original 1888 buildings (formerly Soule College) were destroyed by a tornado in 1942. Designed by St. Louis architects Maguolo & Quick, the four-story brick building is stylistically representative of the era – modern in design with simple stone and aluminum detailing, simplistic in form, and spartan in its general lack of ornamentation. The campanile beside the chapel extends 130 feet in the air and can be seen from miles away. With its physical location in the center of campus and its sheer size, Hennessy Hall is the focal point of the college; the building towers above the plains, establishing a dominant presence on campus and in the community. St. Mary of the Plains College was a four-year liberal arts college in Dodge City, Kansas, that closed in 1992. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2004. Today, much of the old campus is utilized by Newman University. Several organizations, including the university, utilize Hennessy Hall. It is located at 240 San Jose Drive in Dodge City, Kansas. |
| Franklin County Schools | Various | Franklin | 1868-1961 | In 1882, there were 90 school districts in Franklin County, Kansas, and 89 schoolhouses. According to the census of 1881, there were 6,025 children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 4,543 enrolled, and 2,934 in average daily attendance. |
| Junction City High School | 1903 | Geary | 1904- |
 Geary County Historical Museum Located at 319 W. 6th Street, the old Junction City High School was built in 1903-1904 in the Romanesque Revival style. The three-story limestone school opened its doors for the first time on September 12, 1904, with an enrollment of 192 students. The last high school class to graduate from the building was in 1929 and comprised 61 members. The building was then used for the seventh grade. In the 1950s, it was converted to a sixth-grade building with five classes. A kindergarten class was also held in the basement. For many years, the building housed the superintendent’s office, the administrative office, and the board of education meeting room. The building was donated to the Geary County Historical Society in 1982 as a permanent home for the museum. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 1981. |
| Kansas Falls | 17 | Geary | 1869-1953 |
 Kansas Falls School This rural school district was organized on May 14, 1869, at the home of William S. Shane. It was named for the old town of Kansas Falls, which lasted only three years, with its post office closing in 1860. The school closed in July 1953 when the district was disorganized, and the students were divided between Acker and Brookside schools. It is on the Smoky Hill River, approximately seven miles southwest of Junction City, near Seven Springs.
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| Kickapoo | 29 | Geary | 1881-?? |
 Kickapoo School This vernacular-style native stone rectangular building has a metal gable roof and brick chimney. The windows are boarded up. The interior is intact with its original wood floor, tin ceiling, plaster walls with wood wainscoting, and a chalkboard. It is located at 1511 Kickapool School Road near Junction City, Kansas. |
| Rubin | 16 | Geary | 1893 |
 Rubin School This one-story rectangular native stone school was built in the commercial style with a gable roof. It has a hip front porch addition. There is a garage/carriage house west of the school. It is located on Lyon Creek Road near Junction City, Kansas. |
| Spring Valley | 21 | Geary | 1873-1958 |
 Spring Valley School The schoolhouse was built in 1873 on an acre of land donated by the Bailey family. It was named for the springs just south and north of the school. Later, the school added electricity, and a coal furnace replaced the old coal and wood stove in the center of the room. A gas furnace was in place when the school closed. Before the school closed in 1958, it was the last open country school in Geary County without running water or indoor toilets. Afterward, it was used for community meetings. The working 1930s-era water pump and pony barn are still on the grounds. It is located at Highway 18 and Spring Valley Rd, Junction City. |
| Abin’s | ?? | Gove | ||
| Antelope Ridge | 52 | Gove | ||
| Coin | ?? | Gove | ||
| East Lone Star | ?? | Gove | ||
| Gove Rural High School | 1 | Gove | 1921-1969 |
 Gove Rural High School In April 1920, residents voted to approve a bond of $30,000 to build a new high school in Gove City. At that time, only 25 students were enrolled. In June 1920, the lots were purchased, and work began in November. Construction was completed in May 1921, and the first school term was in the fall of 1921 and spring of 1922. In 1965, District 1 became part of the Unified District No. 292 in Wheatland, consolidating with Park and Grainfield. They continued to hold school in the Gove Rural High School building until 1968, when a new school in Wheatland was built. From 1915 until 1968, there were 469 graduates from the Gove Rural High School. The largest class to graduate was in 1940, with 18 Seniors. The largest enrollment was over 80. The Gove County Historical Association purchased the old school in 1970, and it is now the Gove County Historical Museum. The second floor of the two-story red brick building has six rooms. The basement level is the gymnasium with a hanging balcony, both of which have their original hardwood floors and stage. The middle level has one large room. It is located at 505 Washington Street in Gove, Kansas. |
| Missouri Flats | ?? | Gove | ||
| Orion | ?? | Gove | 1930 | |
| Park Grade School | ?? | Gove | ??-1960s |
 Old Park Grade School The old Park Grade School is a one-story rectangular building built in the Commercial style with a flat roof. The interior is intact with plaster walls and ceilings, original doors, trim, and chalkboards. The original High School is located one block to the West. When it was consolidated in the late 1960s, this building closed, and grade school moved to the High School building. This grade school closed in 1990. It is located on the northeast corner of Main and 3rd Street in Park, Kansas. |
| Spring Creek | ?? | Gove | ||
| Union | ?? | Gove | ||
| Cracker Box | ?? | Graham | 1920 |
 Crackerbox School This school was relocated to Nicodemus from Pioneer Township in the 1920s. Part of the Nicodemus Historic District, Cracker Box School is on the north side of Washington Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets. |
| Fairview School | 1 | Graham | 1913-?? |
 Fairview School Nicodemus was the first community in Graham County, Kansas, to establish a school district and school. The existing school building was constructed in 1918 after a fire destroyed its predecessor. The one-and-a-half-story wood-frame school is square in plan with a wood-shingle-hipped roof. A porch on the east elevation marks the main entry to the building. The school property also contains a one-story gabled roofed shed. A large playground and open space surround the structures. It is located on Washington Street in Nicodemus, Kansas. |
| Morland High School | 280 | Graham | 1950-2002 |
 Old Morgan High School The old Morland High School is a one-story L-shaped Modern/Modern Movement-style building. USD 280 Morland and USD 281 Hill City consolidated into USD 281 Hill City in 2002. It is located on East Main Street in Morland, Kansas. |
| North Star | 45 | Graham | 1900 |
 North Star School This wood-frame, one-story rectangular Vernacular-style building has a gable roof and cement board siding. An outhouse stands on the property. It is located 12 miles north of Highway 24 on 200 Avenue near Hill City, Kansas. |
| South Star | ?? | Graham | 1900 |
 South Star School South Star Schoolhouse is a one-story rectangular wood frame built in the commercial style with a gable metal roof and a brick chimney. There is an outhouse southeast of the school and a merry-go-round to the southwest. Vacant today, it sits on the southeast corner of Y Road and 200 Avenue near Hill City. |
| Hickok | ?? | Grant | 1935-?? |
 Hickok Old School An old school building near Hickok, Kansas. This Vernacular-style red brick building also displays two brick outhouses and a wood frame garage south of the old school. This building is now used as a residence. It is located at 5457 E US-160 Highway. |
| Ulysses | 1 | Grant | 1910-?? |
 Ulysses Old School This old school is at the Historic Adobe Museum Complex at 300 W Oklahoma Avenue (US-160 Highway) in Ulysses, Kansas. It was moved here from another location. |
| Greenwood County Schools | Various | Greenwood | 1880-1970 |
 Southern Kansas Academy in Eureka. In 1882, Greenwood County had 90 school districts with 2,987 enrolled students taught by 97 teachers. At that time, the value of all school property was $77,000.00, with $42,490.82 in annual expenditures. |
| Coolidge | Hamilton | 1947-1969 |
 Coolidge This L-shaped brick school closed in 1969. It now serves as a Community Hall for town meetings and bingo nights. Grain is now stored in the auditorium. It is on the north side of Santa Fe Street at the intersection with Walnut Street. |
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| Keystone | 62J | Harper | 1884-1955 |
 Keystone School The Vernacular-style L-shaped wood frame building has an old Outhouse on the property. It serves as a community building today. It is located at 1226 Northwest 150th Road near Attica, Kansas. |
| Lincoln Junior High Auditorium | Harper | 1951-?? |
 Lincoln Junior High Auditorium This one-story rectangular building was built in the Streamlined/Art Moderne style and is unused today. It is located on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Anthony, Kansas. |
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| Silver Creek | ?? | Harper | ||
| Harvey County Schools | Various | Harvey | 1910-1999 |
 Bethel College In 1882, the county had 67 organized districts and 4,140 people of school age; 3,209 students were enrolled, and 82 teachers were employed, with an average salary of $36.59 for males and $31.09 for females. In addition to the public schools, there were many private schools under the auspices of the Mennonites and other denominations, where German and English languages were taught. |
| Soldier Grade School | ?? | Jackson | 1935-1973 |
 Soldier Grade School This one-story red brick T-shaped building was designed in the Colonial Revival style with a hip roof with intersecting gables. It has a gabled central entry door with sidelights and a fanlight transom. This Works Project Administration building replaced a former frame school on the same site that had burned. The grade school kids walked up the street to eat at the high school. When the school closed in 1973, it was converted to a residence. It has a garage. It is located at 209 Francis Street in Soldier, Kansas. |
| Soldier High School Gymnasium | ?? | Jackson | 1920-1968 |
 Soldier High School Gymnasium This one-story rectangular T-shaped brick gymnasium was designed in the commercial style with a gable roof with a parapet. The deteriorated building has many openings boarded up, its roof open and exposed to the elements, and the site overgrown with vegetation. The gym originally stood beside the high school that closed in 1968 and was torn down a couple of years later. The gymnasium was sold. It is located on Highway 62 on the north edge of Soldier, Kansas. |
| Stach | ?? | Jackson | 1940 | Delia |
| Whiting | ?? | Jackson | 1940-?? |
 Old Whiting School This one-story T-shaped brick building was designed in the commercial style with a flat roof with a parapet. The building includes a gymnasium/auditorium with a high degree of integrity. The original school has been altered and expanded to the east, and a gable roof was installed and stucco on exterior brick walls. It now serves as the Whiting Community Center. |
| Wichewah | ?? | Jackson | Pottawatomi Indian Reservation is approximately six miles from Mayetta. | |
| Bolton | 49 | Jefferson | 4.5 miles southeast of Valley Falls on the Ferguson Road | |
| Buck Creek | 43 | Jefferson | 1878-1952 |
 Buck Creek School This school is a one-story native limestone structure with a gable roof. The school’s interior space comprises a center entry foyer flanked by two coat rooms leading into the primary classroom. Students of all ages attended. In 1883, 55 students between the ages of five and 18 attended classes. The length of the school year fluctuated between seven and nine months. Between 1873 and 1907, a teacher earned between $30 and 50 dollars a month. In 1952, the teacher’s salary was $225 per month. After 75 years as a center of education, public meetings, and social events, consolidation forced its closure in 1952. It was then sold to the Valley Ridge Homemakers Extension Unit in 1954 for a meeting hall. It is located at 15490 13th Street, Perry, Kansas, off US-24, two miles east of Williamstown. |
| Excelsior | 12 | Jefferson | North of Valley Falls | |
| Nortonville | ?? | Jefferson | 1937 |
 Nortonville High School This old high school was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1937. Today, it is privately owned and appears to be used as a residence. |
| Sunnyside | ?? | Jefferson | 1880-1954 |
 Sunnyside School. Sunnyside School is located on a rural one-acre parcel in Sarcoxie Township in southern Jefferson County. It is a one-and-a-half-story wood-frame, rectangular building with wood clapboard siding. The building has four rooms: two entry vestibules, a central closet/workspace, and a classroom. It once had two outhouses, one for boys and one for girls. Only one outhouse remains today. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the school is located at 1121 Republic Road near Perry. |
| Wellman | 71 | Jefferson | 1887 |
 Wellman School  Wellman School Interior The school was built in about 1887 on the homestead of Harrison W. Wellman in southeastern Jefferson County. In 1970, the Wellman Schoolhouse was relocated from Sarcoxie Township in the southeast part of the county to its current location at the southeast corner of Old Jefferson Town Museum. The one-story rectangular building wood-frame building was designed in the Vernacular style with a gable roof with a bell tower over the west façade. It is located at the Old Jefferson Town at 703 Walnut Street in Oskaloosa, Kansas. |
| Williamstown | ?? | Jefferson |
 Williamstown Elementary The Williamstown Elementary School closed in 2007 due to financial constraints. |
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| Burr Oak | ?? | Jewell | 1900-1967 |
 Burr Oak School In April 1899, Burr Oak residents voted to build a new school building. Architect J. C. Holland of Topeka designed the schoolhouse, which J. W. Berry built for $7,000. The school opened its doors for classes on January 2, 1900. It served as both the high school and grade school until 1916, when a new high school was built. It continued serving grade school students until 1967. The two-story limestone structure with a full basement shares the block with an auxiliary building to the south that once housed the school lunchroom. Each of the building’s six classrooms has a large cloakroom with the original hooks that once held the students’ coats. Slate blackboards adorn all the walls of the classrooms. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2005. It is located at 776 Kansas Street in Burr Oak. |
| Rose Hill School | 50 | Jewell | 1878-?? |
 Rosehill School This brick one-room schoolhouse was constructed in 1878. Before that time, the school was taught in a log cabin. The school’s highest enrollment was 77 pupils in 1890. It is located in Lovewell State Park today, Webber, Kansas. Historic limestone school hosts summer church service. Five miles east, nine miles north, and four miles east of Mankato, Kansas, on Webber Road. |
| Johnson County Schools | Various | Johnson | 1839-1965 |
 Walnut Grove School in Olathe. The first school in Johnson County, Kansas, was the Shawnee Mission school, and the few white children that were there attended the Indian school, with the exception of those who received private instruction. The first schools for white children, as provided by the territorial laws, were established in Johnson County in 1857. |
| Columbia | ?? | Kearny | 1893-?? |
 Columbia School The Columbia School House originally stood north of Lakin, Kansas. It is now part of the Kearny County Museum Complex at 111 S. Buffalo Street. |
| Pyle | ?? | Kiowa | This school was located near Haviland, Kansas. Etna Maurice Pyle, Sr., and his wife, Susan Lavina Stanley Pyle, were among the founders of Haviland, Kansas. Susan Pyle was the first teacher. The original school building was moved to a nearby farm where it stands today. | |
| Angola | 56 | Labette |
 Old School in Angola, Kansas. The Angola School District was organized in the central part of Canada Township on July 13, 1878. |
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| Globe School | ?? | Labette | 1904-?? |
 Globe School The old Globe School is a red brick rectangular building located at 17036 Gove Road, about two miles north of Mound Valley, Kansas. |
| Labette County | ?? | Labette | ?? |
 Old Labette County School This one-story rectangular stone building, with a gable front roof, was designed in the vernacular style. It has outbuildings on the property. It is located at 1899 26000 Road in the Parsons vicinity. |
| Noble | 89 | Labette | Elm Grove Township | |
| Snow Hill | ?? | Labette | Nine miles east of Coffeyville | |
| Unknown School | ?? | Lane | ||
| Christian Ridge | ?? | Lane | On Vermont/Ellis Road, northwest of Lane. | |
| Leavenworth County Schools | Various | Leavenworth | ?? | The history of the Leavenworth County schools began with the organization of the school board on July 3, 1858, with Nelson McCracken as president. |
| Lincoln County Schools | Various | Lincoln | 1870-1996 | The first thought of Lincoln County pioneers was for their children’s education, and the first school was taught in a dugout in Martin Hendrickson’s dooryard by a young man named Marion Ivy in 1870. David G. Bacon taught the second school in a dugout nearby. In 1870, Mrs. Skinner taught the first public school in District No. 2 at Monroe. |
| Austin | 50 | Linn | Near Mantey, south of Mound City | |
| Excelsior | ?? | Linn | Northeast Linn County | |
| Oxford | 99 | Linn | 1882-?? | Mantey, Kansas. A few people still live in the area, and the old town still sports an old business building and the 1882 Oxford No. 99 school. The old town is about 6.5 miles south of Mound City on Highway 7. |
| Middle Creek | ?? | Linn | ||
| District #9 | 9 | Linn | 1868-1959 |
 No. 9 School This school in Mound City was relocated in 1976 from the Kossuth Community. It was built of lumber hauled by a wagon team from Westport, Missouri. The original site also had a horse barn, coal shed, two outdoor toilets, and a dug well. The one-room, one-teacher schoolhouse served as many as 70 students who attended No. 9 at one time and as low as 9. It is in the Mound City Historical Park at 702 W. Main Street (State Highway 52), west of 7th Street. |
| Oak Grove | ?? | Linn | ||
| Parker High School | ?? | Linn | ?? |
 Old Parker High School The old Parker High School is a two-story red brick T-shaped building designed in the Commercial style with a flat roof. It is located at 229 West Woodward Street in Parker, Kansas. |
| Prescott Elementary | ?? | Linn | 1883-1972 |
 Old Prescott Elementary The old Prescott Elementary School opened in 1883, is a two-story brick structure. It has two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs. The Prescott School served ten grades until the new high school was built to the west of it in 1924. In 1972, consolidation took the high school students to Mound City, and the elementary pupils moved into the old high school. It is located at the intersection of West 3rd Street and Main Street in Prescott, Kansas. It serves as a library today. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. |
| Prescott Rural High School | ?? | Linn | 1924-?? |
 Old Prescott High School Architect Ray Gamble, who served as Kansas’ state architect from 1917 to 1923, designed the Prescott Rural High School in the commercial style with popular Mission and Spanish Revival architectural details. The school had 35 students in grades 1-6. Built in 1924, the one-story rectangular brick building includes a two-story gymnasium and two mid-20th-century additions. The stone accents and the Mission-shaped parapet at the building’s entrance are key character-defining features. It became an elementary school in 1973. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 2008 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas nomination. It currently serves as the Prescott City Hall. It is located at 202 W. 4th Street in Prescott, Kansas. |
| Trading Post | ?? | Linn | 1886-?? |
 Trading Post School This one-story rectangular wood-frame building was built in the vernacular style with a gable roof. Today, it is a museum on N. 4th Street in the ghost town of Trading Post, Kansas.
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| Union | 72 | Linn | Mound City/Pleasanton | |
| Gill | 33 | Logan | 1888-1960 |
 Gill School The Gill School was built in 1888 by early settlers of the area. It was one of the first one-room schoolhouses in Logan County since it was built just a year after its establishment. It was built on land donated by George Gill, who lived in the Fort Wallace post-hospital structure after decommissioning the fort. The school was built of Niobrara limestone, believed to be locally quarried. The school served students from Wallace and Logan County. The interior of the one-room schoolhouse reflects the style and layout of traditional one-room country schools. Except for the entry bay, the school consists of just one room. After serving the surrounding community for 71 years, it closed in 1960. It was listed on the Kansas Register of Historic Places in 2021. It is located at 1601 Plains Rd. |
| Russell Springs | ?? | Logan | ??-1960s |
 The school in Russell Springs, Kansas, is closed today by Kathy Alexander. At the end of the 1960s, the Russell Springs consolidated school closed through school consolidation. Today, students attend the USD 275 Triplains school in Winona. |
| Allen | ?? | Lyon | 1918-?? |
 Allen School This two-and-a-half-story stone school with Neoclassical influences was built in 1918. A streamlined addition was erected in 1946. The building now serves the North Lyon County Youth Association and Community Building. It is located on East 7th Street. |
| Americus | ?? | Lyon | 1941-Present |
 Americus Old High School Located at Broadway & 6th Street in Americus, Kansas, the Work Progress Administration built this two-story Art Deco Style High School in 1941. It now serves as an Elementary School. |
| Dobbs | ?? | Lyon | 1873-1951 |
 Dobbs School This one-room, limestone schoolhouse was originally located about 50 miles west of Emporia in Marion County. When it was built in 1873, it was known as Dobbs School. The school was donated as a gift to Emporia State University by Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Kruse of Marion in 1969 to serve as a museum and memorial to pioneer Kansas education. To move the structure, the school was completely dismantled and restored stone by stone at its new location. It is located at 12 West 18th Avenue in Emporia, Kansas. |
| Cottonwood | 26 | Lyon | 1882-?? |
 Cottonwood School Take Highway 50 west of Emporia for five miles. On the north side of the highway is the simple white wood-framed building with a small steeple. |
| Hartford Collegiate Institute | NA | Lyon | 1863-1875 |
 Hartford Collegiate Institute The Hartford Collegiate Institute in Hartford, Kansas, was established in 1861 as a branch of Baker University in Baldwin to prepare students “for entrance into the Methodist university.” Its location was chosen by the Methodist Episcopal Conference in 1860, and a group called the Neosho Valley Educational Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church first met on December 11, 1861, to make plans for the school. Local citizens agreed to donate funds and land, and by the spring of 1862, the institute showed contributions of cash, materials, and labor amounting to $1,530. An executive committee had been appointed in August 1862 by the Board of Trustees to prescribe courses of study, fix tuition costs, and determine the opening date. Classes corresponding to the upper two grades of high school and the first year and a half of college were desired. Solomon Lewis was the first teacher in the new building, with several others added as attendance increased. The structure was finished in the fall of 1863, and the first classes were held on October 14, 1863. In 1866, Asa D. Chambers leased the institute building for ten years and, in 1867, opened it as a first-class academy. By 1870, there were 120 pupils, although, from 1865 to 1868, the school operated only under extreme hardship. The institute had to close in 1875 because of insufficient funds, but the public school district used the lower floor until 1877. Methodist church services were held in the building for approximately 20 years until 1887. The local high school met in the building from 1903 to 1912. Since then, it has periodically been used as a civic and social center for the community. It is the oldest building in Hartford and the oldest school “building in Lyon County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 1972. It is located at 315 College Boulevard in Hartford, Kansas. |
| College of Emporia – Kenyon Hall | NA | Lyon | 1916 |
 Kenyon Hall Kenyon Hall has been a stately landmark in Emporia since its completion in 1929. This building sits at the center of the old College of Emporia campus, where in the city’s early days, one could see both the Neosho and the Cottonwood Rivers from this knoll known as College Hill. The three-story red brick building was built in the Tudor Gothic style between 1916 and 1929. It is the largest and the second oldest building on the former College of Emporia campus. When a fire in December 1915 destroyed the former administration building known as Stuart Hall, many people thought it would be the demise of the College of Emporia. However, the college immediately started collecting funds and made plans to build a new structure. It was estimated that the building would cost $100,000 and be equipped like no other college building. The building was to have a basement (garden level) and three stories. It was to be about the same size and appearance as Stuart Hall building, which Kenyon Hall was replacing in the same location. Kenyon Hall was the administration building for the College of Emporia, where official college events were held. The chapel was a place of worship, which was part of everyday life for all the students at this Christian college. The building is a concrete and masonry structure with a total gross area of approximately 64,000 square feet. The north end of the building initially served the Conservatory of Music. It housed the theatrical offices, rehearsal rooms, and dressing rooms. The northern and middle sections are the oldest parts of the building, constructed in 1916-17. The middle section of the building is an auditorium space, once identified as Memorial Chapel. That auditorium reportedly seated approximately 1,200 people and had a vaulted ceiling originally lit by four chandeliers. On both the east and west sides of the auditorium are beautiful golden stained-glass windows that certainly would have served the chapel well. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 2004. Kenyon Heights, an apartment complex for seniors, opened in 2013 in the old administration building. It is located at 1300 C of E Drive in Emporia, Kansas. |
| Plymouth | Lyon | 1882-?? |
 Plymouth School Plymouth was an unincorporated community in Lyon County, Kansas. It is technically also an extinct town. The schoolhouse was built in 1882. This one-story rectangular wood frame building was designed in the vernacular style with a gable-front roof. It is unknown when it closed, but the white clapboard school still stands today with its old belfry, broken sidewalk, and playground equipment. It is located at 457 W. U.S. 50 Highway, seven miles west of Emporia. |
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| Marion County Schools | Various | Marion | 1873-1992 |
 Union School In 1882, Marion County had 80 schools, of which there was one joint district with Chase County, one with Dickinson County, and one with Harvey County. At that time, it had four teachers in grade one, 62 in grade two, and 35 in grade three. The number of children of school age was 4,359; the number of male teachers was 42; female, 54; the average age of teachers was 22. The average monthly pay of male teachers was $36.73; for females, $32.43. The bonded indebtedness for schoolhouses was about $35,000. Hillsboro employed two teachers: Florence and Peabody, four each; Marion Center, five; the other districts, one each. There were 97 rooms used for school purposes. |
| Marshall County Schools | Various | Marshall | 1870-1997 | |
| Bethany Academy | NA | McPherson | 1885-?? |
 Bethany Academy This building was the first classroom on Bethany College campus. When Old Main was built, it became the Art Department until the Art Department moved to the 1904 Swedish Pavilion. The Academy building was used for storage until it was moved to Heritage Square at the Old Mill Museum Complex in the 1970s. It is located on the Mill Street Heritage Square at the northeast corner of Main Street and Mill Street in Lindsborg, Kansas. |
| Range | 15 | McPherson | 1906 |
 Range School This one-room schoolhouse was moved to Marquette from its location nine miles northwest of Marquette. The wood frame building has been beautifully restored and is operated as a museum by the Marquette Historical Society. It is located at 206 N. Washington Street. |
| Roxbury | ?? | McPherson | 1915 |
 Roxbury School The old Roxbury School is a two-story rectangular brick building built in the vernacular style with a hip roof with gable front ends. Vacant today, it stands on 27th Avenue in Roxbury, Kansas. |
| West Kentuck | 69 | McPherson | 1910 |
 West Kentuck School  West Kentuck School Interior This rectangular one-story wood frame building was designed in the National Folk style with a gable front roof, a classic bell cupula, and an entry vestibule. It stands on East Mill Street at the Mill Museum in Lindsborg, Kansas. |
| Beaver Creek | 68 | Miami | Middle Creek Township | |
| Cedarvale | 17 | Miami | 1905-1949 |
 Cedar Vale School Cedarvale School was declared annexed with School District #38, known as Louisburg Grade School, in June 1949. The wood frame school has been converted to a residence. It is hidden behind trees at 27865 New Lancaster Road, Louisburg, Kansas. |
| Clark Valley, Pleasant Valley | 10 | Miami | 37936 Pleasant Valley Road, Mound Township, Lane | |
| East Washington | 24 | Miami | Garnett, Sugar Creek Township | |
| Fairview | 9 | Miami | East of Lane, Osawatomie Township | |
| Mission | 33 | Miami | ??-1951 |
 Mission School William Willhoite was the initial owner (c. 1864) of the land Mission School sits upon. He was a practicing doctor at the nearby Miami Mission. He served in the State Legislature in the 1880s and was coroner of Miami County. He also served on the local school board for Mission School, which sat at the edge of his farm. There is no known build date for the school, but it closed to public use in 1951. This wood-framed rectangular Vernacular-style building with a Gable-Front roof is located at 36410 Oak Grove Road in Fontana, Kansas. |
| Green Valley | 13 | Miami | Osawatomie Township | |
| Highland | 85 | Miami | Mound Township | |
| Indianapolis | 7 | Miami | Land for the Indianapolis school was donated by Elisha and Mary Brenson in 1865. | |
| Moore | 83 | Miami | Three miles west of Louisburg, Wea Township | |
| George A. York School | ?? | Miami | 1921-?? |
 George A. York School The two-story red brick building is located on Activity Drive in Osawatomie near the state hospital. Several government offices are located on the first floor today. |
| Louisburg High School | Miami | 1926-?? |
 Old Louisburg High School The two-story red brick old Louisburg High School erected a new east addition in the 1930s and a south addition in 1960. The Commercial Style building now houses the Louisburg Plaza Office Center. It is located at 5 South Peoria Street in Louisburg, Kansas. |
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| Pleasant Ridge | 67 | Miami | Marysville Township | |
| Rock Creek | Miami | 1910-1966 |
 Rock Creek School The Rock Creek School, built in 1910, replaced an earlier schoolhouse, and students attended class until 1966. From Kansas Highway 33 in Wellsville, turn east on Stafford Road, which turns into 231st Street. |
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| Vickers | 49 | Miami | 1869-1966 | The school is southeast of Paola on 319th Street. It serves as an Air Bnb today. A fire damaged it on May 13, 2022, but it appears salvageable. |
| Wagstaff | 98 | Miami | 1887-?? | The district was established in 1886, and the school was built in 1887. It is located in the extinct town of Wagstaff at the intersection of West 255th Street and Ridgeview in Northeastern Miami County, Kansas |
| Willow Branch | 55 | Miami | E. B. Prindle land, Valley Township | |
| District #3 | 3 | Mitchell | 1883-1961 |
 Mitchell #3 School This building was constructed as a school in 1883. It also served as the No. 3 Sunday School and Church around 1889. Services were discontinued about 1927. The school was no longer held in the facility after 1961, and the district disbanded in 1964. The school building was constructed by S.P. Swenson, a Swedish stone mason who arrived in Solomon Valley in 1868. A. Fred Lutz also assisted in the construction. This one-story limestone rectangular structure was built in the Italianate style with a Gable-Front roof. Carved wood trim and fancy-cut stone adorn the building. It is located on Asherville Road, about 2.5 miles east of Beloit, Kansas. |
| Gilbert School | 72 | Mitchell | 1900-?? |
 Gilbert School This T-shaped native stone schoolhouse with its intersecting gable roof sits in a field today. This old school is 3.25 miles east of Beloit on Highway 9. |
| Honey Creek | 21 | Mitchell | 1942-1961 |
 Honey Creek School The Little Red Schoolhouse was erected in 1942 after an early stone school fell victim to a tornado. Honey Creek School was initially located just southwest of Beloit and served about 30 students in grades one through eight. The one-room school was closed in 1961. In 1970, the school building was moved to its present site in a small community park at the corner of Hwy 24 and Hersey Ave. in Beloit, Kansas. 2044 US Hwy 24 Beloit, Kansas. |
| Hunter Rural High School | ?? | Mitchell | 1915-?? |
 Hunter Rural High School This three-story commercial/neoclassical rectangular school native stone building is in ruins today. It is located on 4th Street in Hunter, Kansas. |
| Hyde | ?? | Mitchell | ||
| Round Top | ?? | Mitchell | 1924-1969 |
 Round Top School This rectangular one-story limestone building with a gable roof was designed in the vernacular style with a full basement. Joe W. Ludwig donated the land for the school. After moving to the new building, the first classes were held on October 6, 1924, with Florence Zimmer teaching. An enclosed wood-framed porch addition was added later, protecting the entrance from adverse weather. In 1969, the school was the last one-room schoolhouse in Mitchell County. The last teacher was Galen Long. In 1971, the school building was reverted to the owners’ father. The roof was torn off by a tornado in 1992, and two outhouses were demolished. The deteriorating building is located on 270 Road southwest of Beloit. |
| State Industrial School for Girls | Beloit | Mitchell | 1888-2008 |
 Girls Reform School in Beloit, Kansas, courtesy of Kansas Historical Society. Beloit, Kansas, was home to the girls’ reformatory, one of the longest-operating in the country. |
| Tipton Elementary | ?? | Mitchell | 1910 |
 Old Tipton Elementary School This one-and-a-half-story rectangular gray brick building was designed in the Prairie style with a low-hipped roof and single front entry with a large elevated porch. Square brick columns support the porch roof with concrete steps leading up to the entrance. It served as the only secular school in a German community that maintained a separate Catholic school. The school serviced the non-Catholic residents in the community. It was originally constructed and operated by the Tipton School Board. Today it serves as a residence. It is located at 604 Gambrinus Street in Tipton, Kansas. |
| Caney | 34 | Montgomery | 1871-?? |
 Caney, Kansas School The old Caney School sits at the Caney Valley Historical Society Museum Complex at 310 W. 4th Ave, in Caney, Kansas. |
| Centennial | 09 | Montgomery | ||
| Central | 58 | Montgomery | 1910-1964 |
 Central School The original school building appears to have been in the Prairie style with an Italian Renaissance bell tower. Modern one-story brick appendage on front. It is located at 2491 58 Road, also named 3875 Road. The school is about 1400 feet east of the intersection with 3500 Road. |
| Dearing School Auditorium & Gymnasium | ?? | Montgomery | 1936-?? |
 Dearing Auditorium This Dearing School Auditorium & Gymnasium is believed to have been a Works Progress Administration project. Initial instruction began in October 1935 with a cost of $27,038. The one-and-a-half-story stone building is at 106 W Oak Street in Dearing, Kansas. |
| District #37 | 37 | Montgomery | 1907- |
 District #37 This red brick school building is north of CR 4600 in Drum Creek Township. Independence vicinity.
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| District #60 | 60 | Montgomery | 1895 |
 District #60 School This one-story, six-sided stone building was built in the commercial style with a hip roof. It is located at 5550 Road in the Liberty vicinity and serves as a mausoleum today. |
| Fairview | 59 | Montgomery | 1917-? |
 Fairview School This brick gable roof building is located at 3846 3100 Road, about five and a half miles southwest of Independence, Kansas. The building serves as a residence today. |
| Gamble School | 23 | Montgomery | 1915-1962 |
 Gamble School The old Gamble School is a simple one-story rectangular building with a south gable-roofed entry portico and a squat pyramidal bell tower. Today, the building serves as a church. It is located in Sycamore Township at 2991 5400 Road in the Independence vicinity. |
| Independence | 446 | Montgomery |
 Independence Junior High Located at 300 W. Locust Street, the Independence Junior High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2009. Like other Progressive-Era school buildings, it occupies a full city block. Located near the center of town, its large auditorium was designed to accommodate public gatherings and school-related functions. The three-story Collegiate Gothic building was constructed in 1923 as a Public Works Administration project. A gymnasium was added in 1939. It continues to serve as a school today. |
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| Jefferson | 18 | Montgomery |
 Jefferson School This school was built in 1900 for $2,500 after the previous school burned in 1897. The building has been converted into a home today. Jefferson is a tiny, unincorporated town. It is located on County Road 3300. |
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| Le Hunt | ?? | Montgomery | 1905-?? |
 Old LeHunt School This one-story rectangular stone school was built in the Late 19th & 20th Century Classical Revival style with a hip roof. Serving as a residence today, it is located at 4011 N. Rosser Road in the extinct town of Le Hunt, Kansas. |
| Little White Schoolhouse | 34 | Montgomery | 1871 |
 Little White School This building is part of the original t-shaped school and is also used as a gathering place for community events. The bell was rung for significant events in town and was an early-day way of communicating with citizens. The Howard family that lived in the building was an early settler of Caney and preserved this building until the Historical Society could acquire it. This school was built in 1871 and was located at the corner of 4th and Main streets. The land was donated for the school site on the condition that it always be used for school purposes. It was the only wood frame building painted white then called the “Little White Schoolhouse.” In 1885, the school had a fire but was reconstructed in the shape of a tee to accommodate more students. The original schoolhouse was removed from the corner of 4th and Main to allow a new high school to be built in 1915. The T-shaped structure was taken apart, and one section was moved to 8th and Foreman to become a residence. The other portion was moved to a location on East First Street, and a stone structure was built around the building, where it remains today. The home from 8th and Foreman was donated and moved to the current location in 1993. It is the east wing of the T-shaped building, which currently houses many school-related artifacts. The west addition to the building was built in 1993 to replicate a one-room schoolhouse like it would have been in 1871. It is located at 321 West 4th Avenue in Caney, Kansas. |
| Maple Grove | 52 | Montgomery | South of Independence. | |
| Morgantown | 36 | Montgomery | 1913 |
 Old Morgantown School The old Morgantown School in Drum Creek Township is a rectangular one-story brick structure built in the Eclectic/Neoclassical style. It serves as a residence today. It is located at 4648 4300 Road in the Independence vicinity. |
| One Hundred | Montgomery | 1874-?? |
 Old One Hundred School This one-story wood-frame building with a gable roof was built in the Vernacular style and is in its original location. The deteriorating rectangular building has an outhouse northeast of the school, a swing set, and a teeter-totter east of the school. It is located at 5406 County Road 1950 at the “T” intersection, 1.7 miles east and northeast of Elk City.
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| Overfield | Montgomery |
 Overfield School The old Overfield School in Drum Creek Township is a one-story brick building with a gable-front roof designed in the Italianate-Veneracular style. It is located at 4703 County Road 4200 in the Independence vicinity. |
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| Parker | ?? | Montgomery | Near Coffeyville. | |
| Peebler | ?? | Montgomery | 1900-?? |
 Peebler School The old Peebler Elementary School is a one-story rectangular brick school designed in the commercial style with a hip roof. It serves as a residence today. It is located at 2836 Peter Pan Road (County Road 3525), one-half mile south of the extinct town of Lehunt in the Independence vicinity.
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| Prairie | ?? | Montgomery | Louisburgh Township. | |
| Rich Valley, Lehunt | ?? | Montgomery | Lehunt, three miles northwest of Independence. | |
| School #46 | 46 | Montgomery | ?? |
 School #46 This T-shaped two-story red brick school, with a flat roof and parapet, was designed in the late 19th and 20th century Classical Revival style. It is located at 5680 US-75 Highway in Sycamore, Kansas, and is vacant today.
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| Sunny Side | Montgomery | 1771-1948 |
 Sunnyside School The historic Sunny Side one-room school operated between 1871 and 1948. Before it was moved to the Little House on the Prairie Museum grounds in 1976, it was 4.5 miles away. As typical of that era, teachers in this school taught first through eighth grades. A school bell stands in the yard, ready to call children to class. The one-story wood-frame school is at 2507 County Road 3000 near Independence, Kansas. |
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| Washington Elementary | ?? | Montgomery | 1939-2010 |
 Old Washington Elementary Built in 1939 by the Public Works Administration, Washington School officially opened on January 3, 1940. It served the community of Independence as a public grade school until 2010. The two-story concrete building was designed in the Streamlined/Art Moderne style with a flat roof. The interior is intact with some original doors, plaster walls and ceilings, terrazzo corridors, glazed block wainscoting, the original gym with stage, and suspended ceilings in classrooms. The school faces West. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2015 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas and New Deal-Era Resources of Kansas nomination. A $ 5.7 million rehabilitation project successfully used federal and Kansas Historic Tax Credits and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to turn the school into apartments. It is located at 300 E. Myrtle Street in Independence, Kansas. |
| West Grade School | ?? | Montgomery | 1927-1997 |
 West Grade School This two-story rectangular brick building was designed in the commercial style with a flat roof and parapet. Its original configuration is intact with plaster walls, ceilings, concrete floors, and a gym. Vacant today, it stands at 600 W. Main Street in Cherryvale, Kansas.
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| Wetzel | 78 | Montgomery | RR 1, Cherryvale. | |
| Baxter | 10 | Morris | 1876-?? |
 Baxter School This wood-frame school sits at the northwest corner of MacKenzie and Main Street in White City, Kansas. The original cupola has been removed. The interior has its original wood floor, light fixtures, chalkboards, plaster walls, and wood trim. It was moved to its current location from six miles west of town. There is an outhouse northeast of the school and a Merry-go-round to the southeast. |
| Dwight | 30 | Morris | Limestone school north of Dwight on Cutoff Road. | |
| Dunlap | ?? | Morris |
 Dunlap School Gym This red brick gymnasium has a brick addition on the northeast corner. It is on the south side of 5th Street in Dunlap, Kansas. |
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| Fairview | 33 | Morris |
 Fairview School This wood frame building has a hip roof and cupola. Fairview School is located in the 200 block of East Main Street in Council Grove, Kansas. |
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| Field | 54 | Morris | ??-1946 |
 Field School This school was initially located eight miles South of Council Grove and was moved to this site in 1999. It has remained virtually unchanged since it was built in 1902, except for the enclosure of a portion of the porch in 1939. It stands at the Trail Days Historic Site at 803 W. Main Street in Council Grove. |
| Four Mile | ?? | Morris | 1913-1965 |
 Four Mile School The Four Mile Schoolhouse is a wood frame building with a hip porch. It is located at 1407 Four Mile Road, Council Grove, Kansas. |
| Garfield | 06 | Morris | Southwest 25-T14-R9E | |
| Garner | ?? | Morris | 1880-1962 |
 Garnder School This one-story square wood frame building with weathered clapboard siding was designed in the vernacular style with a hip roof. This deteriorating vacant building is located on M Ave and P Ave on K-149, about five miles south of White City, Kansas. |
| Kaw Mission | ?? | Morris | Council Grove | |
| Kelso | 03 | Morris | NE19-T15-R8E | |
| Latimer | 36 | Morris | ?? |
 Latimer School This old wood-frame school stands at the corner of Kasten Avenue and L Avenue, three miles east of Highway 77 on L Avenue. It is in the extinct town of Latimer, Kansas. |
| Marion Hill | 31 | Morris | ||
| Morris County | ?? | Morris | 1937-?? |
 Old school in Council Grove This one-and-one-half-story T-shaped building was designed in the National Folk style with a cross-gable roof. Relocated from rural Morris County, it is located at 212 W. Hays Street in Council Grove, Kansas.
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| Pleasant Valley | 86 | Morris | Northwest36-T14-R5E | |
| Swartz, Slough Creek | 52 | Morris | 1872-1962 |
 Swartz School This one-story rectangular wood-frame school was designed in the vernacular style with a gable roof and a wood-frame gable entry. It was moved to its current site to serve as a museum adjacent to the City Library at the corner of 7th and Main Street in Dwight, Kansas. |
| Wilsey High School | 6 | Morris | 1920-?? |
 Wilsey High School. Located at 410 North Street in Wilsey, Kansas. A large metal building with a vaulted roof to the west is a gymnasium. Playground and ball court in rear. The building now serves as the Cavalry Bible School. |
| Richfield Grade School | Morris | 1940- |
 Richfield Grade School The old Richfield Grade School is a one-story blonde brick L-shaped building designed in the Modern/Modern Movement style. There is a brick pylon/bell tower at the entry on the East end; a metal awning extends over the entry. A gymnasium with a gable roof is on the southwest corner. The interior has brick wainscoting, concrete block walls, and acoustic tile ceilings. Now used as Richfield Township Community Center, it is located on 7th Street in Richfield, Kansas. |
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| Nemaha County Schools | Various | Nemaha | The first school was taught in a small building in Granada Township of Nemaha County, Kansas, in 1856. In 1880, the county had a school population of 4,473, with 86 organized districts with 90 schoolhouses. The schools gave employment to 133 teachers. The total valuation of the school property at this time was $57,904. By the early 1890s, there were 115 districts and 12 joint districts. | |
| Brewster | 64 | Neosho | 1872-1963 |
 Brewster School This well-kept school building is in Thayer, Kansas. |
| Lone Elm | ?? | Neosho | 1867-1951 |
 Lone Elm School This one-room school is on the grounds of the Osage Mission-Neosho County Museum in St. Paul, Kansas. |
| Murray Hill Elementary | Neosho | 1951-2009. |
 Murray Hill Elementary School. The first school was built on this site in 1887, and when it burned in December 1901, the city built a larger school on the same site. The first Murray Hill School was completed in November 1902. The population growth in the 1910s and again in the 1950s pushed the community to reassess local educational needs. This one-and-a-half-story concrete school was built in 1951. The simple form of the Modern Movement, with minimal architectural ornament and a strong horizontal emphasis, was often employed in the design of post-WWII elementary schools. The Murray Hill School retains many simple, Modern Movement architectural features and historic interior configuration. In 2008, the Unified School District built a new consolidated Chanute Elementary School on the city’s outskirts and closed the three elementary schools at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 2011 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas nomination. It is located at 400 W. 3rd Street in Chanute, Kansas. |
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| Oak Grove | 20 | Neosho | 1877-1960 |
 Oak Grove School The Oak Grove School District 20 was founded in 1867-1868. The single-story sandstone Oak Grove School was built in 1877. A front porch was added to the east side in 1913, and a stone coal room was added to the building’s west side in 1937. The site also contains an 1895 flagpole, a cistern, and the remains of two outhouses. The Oak Grove School was closed in 1960 due to rural district consolidation. The school was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. It is located in Lincoln Township at 20505 20th Road in the St. Paul vicinity. |
| Pleasant Ridge | ?? | Neosho | 1935-?? |
 Old Pleasant Ridge School This one-story rectangular building has a low-pitched hipped roof and an emphasis on horizontal lines. The original building had a brick entryway on the south side, and brick continues to serve as the main body of the house. It was built in 1935 as a rural public school and was later used as a Methodist Church. The church was damaged, and the south side was rebuilt with wood in 1952. In the late 1990s, the roof was re-shingled, and the siding was replaced with vinyl siding. The house contains original brick, window systems, ceiling, tall interior walls, and wooden steps up where teachers used to sit and teach. It is a residence today. It is located at 17770 Trego Road in the Erie vicinity. |
| Stark | ?? | Neosho | 1929-1986 |
 Stark School Stark High School was founded in 1929. The last graduating class was the class of 1967. It then became a grade school until 1986. Now called Grant Community Center, numerous organizations and groups in the surrounding Neosho County area use it. |
| Beeler Grade School | ?? | Ness | 1938-1972 |
 Beeler Grade School This red brick grade school closed in 1972. The Methodist Church purchased it and used it for services. It is on the north side of Broadway Street. |
| Beeler High School | ?? | Ness | ??-1972 |
 Beeler High School This red brick and stone building has a central entry, a gabled parapet, and a stone gothic arched entrance. There is a garage bay in the rear. The school closed in 1972 and is used as the township’s community center/meeting hall. It is on the South side of Broadway Street. |
| Ness City | Ness | 1882 |
 Ness City Old School This rectangular one-story stone building was built in the Vernacular-Italianate style with a Gable-Front roof. It was reportedly the first school in Ness City. In 1969, a concrete block was added on the rear. Today, the Ness County Historical Society owns it and operates it as a museum. It is located at the intersection of K-96 Highway and Sycamore Street. |
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| Hillman | 6 | Norton | 1866 |
 Hillman School Located in Crystal Township. A family by the name of Hillmon was active in establishing the school. The original structure was a combination of log and dugout. It was located in the northwest part of Norton County, overlooking the Sappa Valley, 1 1/2 miles south of the Kansas-Nebraska State Line. In 1886, the current building was erected just one-half mile south of the original structure. The schoolhouse also served as a community center and was used for church services, funerals, weddings, and many other school activities. In 1967, the one-room school was accepted by the Norton City Council from the Hillmon-Devizes Community. The building was moved to its present location at the Prairie Dog State Park in September 1969. The park is four miles West of Norton on Highway 36. |
| Arvonia | ?? | Osage | 1872-1949 |
 Arvonia School Arvonia is a ghost town located near the junction of South Arvonia Road and West 325th Street about four miles north of Lebo, immediately southwest of Melvern Lake in the southwest corner of Osage County. Arvonia Schoolhouse is significant for its association with the Welsh mining community of Arvonia. The building was built in 1871 as a two-story building. There is also an old church nearby.
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| Highland | ?? | Osage | ?? |
 Highland School This school is said to have been moved to Melvern from another location. It is located on Walnut Street, just south of Hollman Street. |
| Hobbstown | 88 | Osage | 1924-1959 |
 Hobbs School District 88 was established in Osage County in 1877, and the first school was built c.1878. The existing brick school was constructed in 1924, replacing the former frame school on the same site. The schoolhouse served District 88 for 35 years, ceasing operation in 1959. The Craftsman/Bungalow-style one-story brick schoolhouse has a metal roof. The one-room schoolhouse has a small stage with paired bi-fold doors on the north wall. Coat closets frame the corner entry vestibule, and a third closet is in the northwest corner. The original double-hung wood windows are in place, covered on the exterior for protection from vandals. Interior finishes include plaster walls, pressed-tin ceilings, with wood floors and trim. The original interior includes a slate chalkboard with a chalk tray, paneled wood doors with operable transoms, and some school desks. The building is two miles east of Osage City at the intersection of K-31 and Urish Road. |
| Junction Schoolhouse | 26 | Osage | 1879-1950 |
 Junction Schoo. The Vernacular-style stone building still has its original bell and hipped pyramidal bell tower. After the school closed, It wasn’t used until it was bought in 1999 for recreational purposes. The western shore of Valley Brook Arm of Lake Pomona is about 200 yards east of the former school. It is located at North Sail-Away Drive in the Michigan Valley vicinity, one mile south of 205th Street and Paulen Road in the southwest corner of North Sail-Away Estates. It is now a personal residence. |
| Lickskillet | ?? | Osage | 1905 |
 Lickskillet School This vernacular Queen Anne-style school has a simple, symmetrical gable-front atop a stone foundation. It has wood clapboard siding, a hip-roof portico, and four simple classical-inspired columns. The interior retains a chalkboard. The origin of the nickname, Lickskillet, is unknown, though local lore indicates it may be related to a dog who licked a skillet clean. It is located on East 125th Street near Overbrook, Kansas. |
| Melvern | Osage | 1872 |
 Old Melvern School This rectangular two-story stone building was erected in the Vernacular style in 1870-1872. It was placed on the Kansas State Register of Historic Places in August 1986. It serves as a private home today. It is located at 106 E. Beck Street in Melvern, Kansas. |
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| Rapp | 50 | Osage | 1929-1962 |
 Rapp School The first school at the site was a one-story wooden building, finished in 1871, being built at a cost of approximately $175. Fifty-seven years later, in 1929, the present brick building was built. The beautiful brick building and play-round adjoins Rapp Cemetery, where many early family names may be found. During its early years, the schoolhouse, located five miles west of Osage City on Highway 56, was an integral part of the Rapp village, which was located along the Missouri Pacific Railroad, a couple miles east and south of the schoolhouse. The rural Rapp community consisted of about a dozen homes, a railroad crossing, a produce station, a general store, a lumberyard, a blacksmith shop, and a stockyard. Only four of the former homes remain. The community and the schoolhouse were named after C.J. Rapp, who owned much land there. Classes at Rapp School District No. 50 commenced in 1871, though the first teacher was hired in 1872. The last year classes were held in the schoolhouse was in 1962. This one-and-a-half-story rectangular red brick building was designed in the vernacular style with a hip roof and a basement. The building has a red brick exterior and a full basement. The two-story bell tower with the bell intact. The old Rapp Schoolhouse in Osage County, Kansas, is one of the few, if not the only, one-room eight-grade schoolhouses in the state still with its original desks and textbooks. |
| Schuyler Grade School | ?? | Osage | 1902-2001 |
 Schuyler Grade School Constructed on the site of the former Osage County courthouse, the school was named in honor of one of Burlingame’s important figures, Philip Church Schuyler (pronounced “Skyler.”) The Schuyler School plan is a representative example of a rectangular, two-story, two-room plan that became popular during this period of history. The two-and-a-half-story red brick school has a stone foundation, watercourse, and trim around the entrance. Built in the Richardsonian Romanesque/Romanesque Revival style, it has Romanesque arches at the second-story windows and on dormers. A 1955 addition on West is a one-story blonde brick with stone sills. The T-shaped building has a hip roof. It served as a school until 2001 and became a museum in 2002. It is located at 117S. Dacotah Street in Burlingame, Kansas. |
| Superior | 2 | Osage | 1894-1950 |
 Superior School The Superior School site was deeded to School District No. 2 on August 1, 1868, by D.B. Burdick, the first sheriff of Osage County. By 1894, the first school was in poor condition, and a new school was built. The school closed in the spring of 1950. It is located two miles south of Burlingame on U.S. Highway 56 at the northwest corner of the intersection with 189th Street. |
| Vassar | ?? | Osage | 1912-1978 |
 Vassar School The Vassar Schoolhouse was built in 1912 and closed in 1978 after consolidating with the Lyndon School District. In 1979, the “little red schoolhouse” became the Vassar Community Center. |
| District 28 | 28 | Osborne | Kill Creek Township | |
| Iowa | ?? | Osborne | Twin Creek Township, southeast of Osborne | |
| Ada | ?? | Ottawa | 1940 |
 Ada School Located on Beucler Avenue, this is a blond brick building with tan brick detailing. It has a gymnasium, vaulted roof, and stone detailing on the west end. It is vacant and deteriorating today. |
| County Line | ?? | Ottawa | 1920-?? |
 County Line School This one-and-a-half-story brick school house has round windows in gable ends on the south and west sides, arched brick lintels and stone sills, and a wood shingle roof. The T-shaped school is located in a wheat field. It is 1/2 mile north of K-18 on Linchell Road in the Tescott vicinity. |
| Roy | 46 | Ottawa | 1920-1963 |
 Roy School This one-and-a-half-story T-shaped red brick school house, built in the vernacular style, has a stone water table and sills and a hip roof with an intersecting gable-wood roof with lower cross gables. District No. 46 disbanded in 1963. The old Roy School House is half a mile east of 70th Road on Evergreen Road near Tescott. |
| Tescott ‘Standard School’ | ?? | Ottawa | 1920-?? |
 Tescott Standard School This one-and-a-half-story T-shaped stucco building was designed in the vernacular style with a shelter-gable roof supported by wood posts. The interior has a pressed tin ceiling, plaster walls, and carpet. There is a playground/park on the south end of the site. This two-room school served grades 1-4. Later, it became a Legion Hall, then owned by a private citizen, before becoming a museum. It is located on North Minnesota Avenue in Tescott, Kansas. |
| Tripp School | ?? | Ottawa | 1910-?? |
 Tripp School The old Tripp School House is a one-story T-shaped wood-frame building designed in the vernacular style with a cross-gable roof. It has a gable addition on the south side and a hip entry porch with an arched opening on the Southeast corner. Fields and pastures surround this deteriorating building, and the site is overgrown with trees and brush. It is located one and a half miles south of Hwy 18 on N 60TH Road in the Tescott vicinity. |
| Cross Roads | ?? | Phillips | Southwest of Logan | |
| Prairie View | ?? | Phillips | 1922-?? |
 Prairie Grove School The old Prairie View School is a brick two-story T-shaped commercial-style building with a flat roof and a one-story brick rear addition. After the building was sold, it was converted to a residence. It is located at 314 Mayberry Lane in Prairie View, Kansas. |
| Hoff | 42 | Phillips | 1899-1946 |
 Hoff School Hoff School is located northeast of Kirwin in rural Phillips County. The one-room, wood-frame schoolhouse was built by local carpenter Fred Agard in 1899 when the county’s population peaked at just over 14,000 residents. The building served area students until consolidation closed it in 1946. It is on the Kansas State Register of Historic Places. |
| Speed | ?? | Phillips | ||
| Stuttgart | ?? | Phillips | 1950-?? |
 Stuttgart School This one-story L-shaped brick building with a flat roof was designed in the Modern/Modern Movement. It is located on East Main Street in Stuttgart, Kansas, and is vacant today. |
| Pottawatomie County Schools | Various | Pottawatomie | 1870-1992 | In 1882, the children of school age were – males, 2,927; females, 2,765; total, 5,692. The number of school buildings was 98; of school rooms was 106. There are 98 school districts. Four joint districts are with Nemaha, three with Jackson, and three with Riley. The estimated value of the school property 1as $80,735. There were $8,505 of schoolhouse bonds issued during the year and its bonded indebtedness was $17,455. About 80% of the school children were enrolled during the year, while the average daily attendance was just 55% of the enrollment. |
| Sawyer | ?? | Pratt | 1920-?? |
 Sawyer School This one-and-a-half-story red brick building was designed in the commercial style with a flat roof with a parapet. It is located on Broadway Street at the T-intersection with Smith Street.
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| Rawlins County School | ?? | Rawlins | 1906-?? |
 Rawlins County School This rectangular, wooden, one-story, side-gabled schoolhouse has a corrugated metal sheet roof. The building is deteriorating, unpainted and vacant. It is located on County Road 29 in the Achilles vicinity. |
| ?? | 113 | Reno | Walnut Township | |
| Dodge | 11 | Reno | T.24.S. R.38.W. | |
| Plevna Gymnasium | Reno | 1939-?? |
 Plevna Gym-Auditorium This two-story red brick rectangular gymnasium/auditorium has a one-story stone hexagonal central entry and a flat roof. It is located at 306 S. Main Street in Plevna, Kansas.
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| Reno | ?? | Reno | Reno | |
| Roosevelt | Reno | 1920-2001 |
 Roosevelt School Roosevelt School is a three-story brick building with a projecting center bay and a stone surround at the arched central entry. The rectangular building was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style with a flat roof and parapet. Two one-story brick additions are on the rear and on the North end. When the school closed in 2001, the building was purchased and used as a church. It is located at 1615 N. Adams Street in Hutchison, Kansas. |
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| Salt City Business College | Reno | 1916-1979 |
 Salt City Business College Through consolidations and mergers, the Salt City Business College can trace its beginnings back to 1879, when Hutchinson was poised to become a regional center of commerce. With the town’s easy access to rail and its role as a center for business, it was natural to locate a business college downtown. At first, the school was located on the top floor of the building at the southwest corner of A and Main. In 1910, J.D. Conard and Oscar S. Johnston bought the school with only 68 students. Under their leadership, it began a period of rapid growth, and by March 1912, there were nearly 600 students enrolled. This led to the construction of a building solely for the use of the college. The building was initially designed by W.F. Hulse & Company, but the firm was dismissed, and Conard and Johnston claimed to have completed most of the planning. The school closed in December 1979, its centennial year. This two-story brick building was designed in the Late 19th & 20th Century Classical Revival style and features a rectangular stone surround with the words “Salt City Business College” carved in the lintel. There are two shallow projecting bays on both ends. In the second story, three bays are separated by engaged classical stone Corinthian columns between the two end bays. These bays also feature a stone balustrade, separating the first from the second story. At either end of the front parapet are stone tablets. The ground-level storefronts have display windows with stone paneled kickplates or garage doors. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2004 as part of the Hutchinson Downtown Core South Historic District. It is located at 100 E. Avenue A in Hutchinson, Kansas. |
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| South Hutchinson | ?? | Reno | Hutchinson | |
| Agenda | ?? | Republic | 1915-1966 |
 Agenda Rural High School  Agenda Rural High School A portion of the Agenda Rural High School at 401 Main Street Still stands. The Block building wing with glass block windows has been removed. The gym with a gable roof on the south end is intact. |
| Belleville High School | Republic |
 Belleville High School Belleville High School, later Republic County Middle School, was constructed in 1931 in Belleville, Kansas. Built in the Collegiate Gothic style, the red brick building features a limestone foundation and detail work, multiple gable roofs, and gabled dormers. The building served as Belleville’s high school until 1962, then as the city’s junior high and middle schools. At the end of the 2012-2013 school year, the school was closed, and the property was sold to a private developer, who declared his intention to convert it to an apartment complex dubbed Buffalo Apartments. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June 2013. It is located at 915 W. 18th Street. |
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| Norway | ?? | Republic |
 An school gymnasium in Norway. An old school gymnasium in Norway has been converted into a community center. |
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| Park Hill | ?? | Republic | The old Park Hill School House is a one-story rectangular wood frame structure built in the Vernacular style with a gable front roof. The schoolhouse was moved to this museum site and is on display as an example of a one-room schoolhouse. There is an outhouse North of the school. The schoolhouse is one of several buildings on the Museum site, including a Museum, a log house, and a church. It is located at 605 28th Street in Belleville, Kansas. | |
| Union Valley | 39 | Republic | UnionTownship southeast 1/4 Section 22 | |
| Wayne | 03 | Republic | Grant Township | |
| Mitchell Union | ?? | Rice | 1926-?? |
 Union School This two-story red brick rectangular building with a one-story projecting entry bay was built in the Commercial/-Collegiate style. Located on Church Street in Mitchell, Kansas, the old school is vacant today. It still has playground equipment. |
| Raymond Gymnasium | ?? | Rice | 1959-?? |
 Raymond Gymnasium This one-and-a-half-story brick rectangular gymnasium was designed in the Streamlined/Art Modern style. It has a gable with a parapet roof. It is currently used as a community gathering space. It is located at 707 N. Main Street in Raymond, Kansas. |
| Raymond High School | ?? | Rice | 1924-2002 |
 Raymond High School This school in 2002. The two school buildings were sold to separate individuals. The gym was sold to the city and continues to be utilized as a gym and a gathering center. This one-story brick T-shaped school was designed in the Colonial Revival style with a hip roof. It has a one-and-a-half-story central entry bay with large white round wood columns, a gabled entrance, and a hex cupola with a dome roof. It serves as a residence today. It is located on 8th Street in Raymond, Kansas. |
| Raymond High School Cafeteria | ?? | Rice | 1900-2002 |
 Raymond High School Cafeteria This one-story wood frame T-shaped building with wood siding was designed in the vernacular style with a hip roof, a gable center entry bay, a small side gabled entry addition on the west, and a small shed addition on the east. It is one of four buildings on the block. In addition to the cafeteria, the high school, a brick gymnasium, and a block garage behind the gym were also on the block. It is located at 106 W. 7th Road in Raymond, Kansas. |
| Sterling College – Cooper Hall | NA | Rice | 1887-Present |
 Cooper Hall Cooper Hall was the original building on the Sterling College campus in Sterling, Kansas. The College was known as Cooper College until 1920. Cooper Hall is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the American Presbyterian/Reformed Historic Sites Registry. It is located on North Broadway Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1974. |
| Stone Corral | Rice | 1880-1940s |
 Stone Corral School This one-story school was built from some of the stone used to construct the stone corral at Camp Grierson/Station Little Arkansas, about one mile Northeast of this site. Built in the vernacular style, it has a gable-front roof with Italianate details in the stonework above the front entry. The East facade has a centered door with a round transom. Almost completely destroyed in a grass fire in the Spring of 2018, it is in ruins today. It is located on Avenue Q Road near Windom, Kansas. |
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| Carnahan Creek | ?? | Riley | Is still there. | |
| College Hill | 7 | Riley | 1895 |
 College Hill School Located at 2600 Kimball Avenue in Manhattan, Kansas, College Hill School began to be built in 1894 as a one-room rural school. The stone school included one classroom and four anterooms, including a boys’ cloakroom, a girls’ cloakroom, a library, and a bell room. For many years, the school provided instruction for grades 1-8 and provided high school credit for 2-3 years. In 1964, the College |
| Deep Creek | ?? | Riley | 1892-?? |
 Deep Creek School This limestone schoolhouse was built in 1892. Two other schoolhouses preceded this one. Today, the building serves as a community meeting place. It is located at 3125 Deep Creek Road at Pillsbury Crossing, five miles southeast of Manhattan. |
| Douglas School | 32 | Riley | 1904-1962 |
 Douglas School This was the first school in Manhattan for African Americans and functioned as such from its inception in 1904 to its closing in 1962. The building is now known as the Douglass Center Annex, offering community space for tutoring and mentoring programs, meetings, and public services. It is on the south side of Yuma Street, facing north towards the Douglass Community Center. The building is constructed of limestone and features an irregular hipped roof. The main entrance is a set of glass double doors accessible by concrete steps with guardrails. On the west side of the building, facing 9th Street, are tall windows that compose most of the walls on that side, as well as a raised access door with a stairway leading up to it. Plenty of windows on the east side of the building face out towards the playground and the nearby Douglass Park. A small limestone chimney rises above the roof, shingled at a high angle. It is located at 901 S. Yuma Street in Manhattan, Kansas. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2023. |
| Eureka Valley | Riley | 1865-1947 |
 Eureka Valley School The gable-front limestone one-room school has an outhouse and a cemetery on the property. It is located on Eureka Drive in the vicinity of Manhattan. |
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| Kansas State University – Anderson Hall | NA | Riley | 1979-Present | Anderson Hall at Kansas State University in Manhattan is one of the oldest buildings on campus. It was constructed in 1879 in the High Victorian Gothic Style. The building’s name honors John Alexander Anderson, who served as the school’s second president from 1873 to 1879. Originally known as the Practical Agriculture Building, Anderson Hall housed a canteen, barbershop, and chapel until the 1920s. In 1965, installing an electrically operated 98-bell carillon in the Anderson Hall Tower allowed chimes to play each hour. In 1993, lightning struck the tower and caused $1.2 million in damages. It is located at the intersection of Vattier Street and Mid-Campus Drive. It currently serves as the university’s administrative office. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 1980. |
| Middle Seven Mile | 32 | Riley | Seven Mile Township | |
| Pleasant Hill | ?? | Riley | ??-1965. | This was the last one-room school in Riley County. |
| Rocky Ford | 70 | Riley | 1903-1938 |
 Rocky Ford School This one-room limestone schoolhouse was built in 1903 and rebuilt in 1927 after a fire. An outhouse was built in 1904, a well was first excavated in 1909, and a merry-go-round was installed in 1929. These contributing elements remain associated with the property. The school building served first through eighth-grade students in District 70 until consolidation with District 1 in 1938. In 1987, the school district gave the school to the Riley County Historical Society. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Placed in 2012. It is located at 1969 Barnes Road, north of Manhattan, Kansas |
| Winkler | 25 | Riley | ??-1954 | The school was closed in 1954 because of declining enrollment. |
| Stockton Academy Dormitory | ?? | Rooks | 1888-?? |
 Stockton Academy Dormitory The house was built near the Congregational Academy in 1888 by Charles C. and Nannie Dail. Reportedly, this house was used to house some of the faculty at the Academy, which closed in 1896. The house was sold in 1905 and remodeled. It was reportedly used as a temporary hospital during a smallpox epidemic in the early 1900s. This one-and-a-half-story house with Gothic influences has a cross-gable roof with two brick chimneys. The stucco was added sometime after 1900. The west door has a transom, and the small portico has turned post supports. Covered with siding today, it serves as a residence. It is located at 604 N. 7th Street in Stockton, Kansas. |
| Zurich | ?? | Rooks | 1930-?? |
 Zurich School This one-and-a-half-story brick building was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style with a side-gable roof. The front entry faces Highway 18 with a central recessed door surrounded by decorative moldings under a central, low gable featuring decorative stone details. On the north side of the original building is a square block wing or addition, possibly a gym. A mid-20th century addition to the west is a single-story with wide bays of windows and a flat roof. Playground equipment is in the front, on the east side of the south lawn. A squared garage building is to the northeast. It is located at 108 N. Webb in Zurich, Kansas. |
| Alexander | 6 | Rush | 1916-1966 |
 Alexander School When it opened, this building served K-12. The main section was built in 1916. A gymnasium, which still has hardwood flooring, a scoreboard, and basketball goals, was built in 1930. The last graduating class, he said, was in 1966. The district combined with La Crosse and other rural schools in the area. The school stayed open as an elementary school until the early 1980s. The school still stands at 200 School Street in Alexander, Kansas. |
| Pleasant Point | Rush | 1907-1959 |
 Pleasant Point School The old Pleasant Point School was originally located 6.5 miles south of Nekoma, Kansas. It was moved to the museum campus in La Crosse in 2015. This one-story rectangular wood-frame building was designed in the commercial style with a gable roof. The entry vestibule and coal room were added at a later date. This one-room school contains most of the original furnishings. It is located at 202 West 1st Street in La Crosse, Kansas. |
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| Lone Star | 64 | Rush | 1879-1947 |
 Lone Star School Built in 1879, the Lone Star School building is located west of Bison in rural Rush County. With help from the community, contractor Henry Mertz and carpenter Henry Rogers built the dual-purpose building for school activities during the week and church services on Sundays. This limestone building served grades one through eight. A wood-frame vestibule was added to the front of the building in the early 20th century. In 1947, the school was consolidated with Bison School District 61. The property is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. |
| Pleasant Point | 24 | Rush | 1907-1957 |
 Pleasant Point School In 2015, this school moved from its rural Union Township location 6.5 miles south of Nekoma to Grass Park in La Crosse. |
| St. Joseph | NA | Rush | 1905 |
 St. Joseph Parochial School St. Joseph Church in Liebenthal established its first school in 1890. Following the dedication of the present church building in May 1905, the original church was converted to a school operated by the Dominican Sisters. On June 4, 1917, the parish dedicated a three-story native stone school on the original church’s site. The building contained three classrooms and restrooms on the main floor, a gymnasium and stage on the upper floor, a large hall and kitchen in the basement, and a wing to house the Sisters. By 1941, the church schoolhouse had lost its nuns. After the parochial school closed, the school district used the building until 1968. |
| Timken | 12 | Rush |
 Timken, School The Otis-Bison USD 403 school district now serves the community. |
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| Bunker Hill Gymnasium/Auditorium | Russell | 1930 |
 Bunker Hill School The two-story T-shaped stone building at 257 Warren Street appears to be used for storage today. |
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| Paradise Rural High School | Russell | 1930-1970 |
 Old Paradise High School  Paradise Auditorium The old Paradise Rural High School is a two-story rectangular red brick building that was built in the Commercial style with a flat roof. It closed in 1970. Across the street is the old auditorium. The city continues to use the auditorium, while the school is used for storage. It is located at 241 Main Street in Paradise, Kansas. |
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| Prairie Dell | 45 | Russell | 1918 |
 Prairie Dell School This vernacular-style one-room stone school with a flared-hipped hip roof sits within an open field. The school is square in plan with a front elevation and has a partial-width entrance porch cover with a front gable roofline supported by square posts constructed of small, square post rock limestone blocks. All of the window and entrance openings are boarded. An exterior brick chimney is located on the north elevation. It is located at 5441 193rd Street in the Luray vicinity. |
| Superior | 61 | Russell | 1883 |
 Superior School This one-story rectangular stone school, built in the vernacular style with a gable roof, stands in ruins today. It is located at 20080 K-18 Highway near Lucas, Kansas. |
| Bavaria High Scool | Saline | 1926-1969 |
 Bavaria School The two-and-a-half-story Bavaria High School, built in the Collegiate Gothic style in 1926, is located at 129 Main Street in Bavaria, Kansas. |
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| Brookville Grade School | ?? | Saline | 1880-?? |
 Brookville School The Brookville Grade School is at the west end of the once thriving, albeit small, town of Brookville. The two-and-a-half-story brown sandstone structure was built in 1879-1880, with one significant addition to the back of the school in 1914. It was used continuously as a school for over 100 years. Located at 215 W. Anderson, it serves as a private residence today. |
| Gypsum | ?? | Saline |
 Gypsum School The old Gypsum school sits in the city park between E. 2nd and 3rd Streets. |
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| Kansas Wesleyan University – Pioneer Hall | NA | Saline | 1930 |
 Pioneer Hall Kansas Wesleyan University opened its doors for classes on September 15, 1886, with 63 college and preparatory students and eleven faculty members. The original administration building stood prominently as the only campus building for 17 years, followed by a period of physical expansion that included the construction of a women’s dormitory, new science hall, and gymnasium, as well as gifts of two spatial homes near campus used for residence halls. During this time, additional land was acquired that doubled the size of the campus, allowing the creation of an athletic field, landscaping, and general improvements to the campus. Pioneer Hall became the eighth campus building, constructed from 1923 to 1930. Pioneer Hall is the main administration and educational building in the heart of the Kansas Wesleyan University campus in south Salina. Administrative offices and classrooms are located along the north spine and in the end wings with Sams Chapel, a two-story, 1,500-seat auditorium in the center of the building on the south. The T-shaped three-story building was built in the Late Gothic Revival style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2023. It is on the Kansas Wesleyan University Campus at 100 East Claflin Avenue, Salina, Kansas. |
| Lincoln Junior High School | ?? | Saline | 1917 |
 Lincoln School The Roosevelt-Lincoln Junior High School property comprises two historic buildings separated by a restored green space. Architect William T. Schmitt designed Lincoln School in the Prairie style, constructed between 1915 and 1917. It was enlarged in 1925. The three-story brick building at 220 South 7th Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2006 as part of the multiple property submission of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas. Today, it is an apartment building. |
| Lowell School | Saline | 1916-2002 |
 Old Lowell School The old Lowell School is a two-story rectangular red brick building built in the Late 19th & 20th Century Classical Revival style. In 2015. At its opening in 1916, Lowell school served 1st-3rd Grades. The three-bay symmetrical front facade features a finely detailed center bay framed by massive brick pilasters that extend above the parapet and fluted Corinthian columns inside the pilasters that frame the entry bay. The two-story south addition was constructed in 1963 and connected to the original school by an enclosed two-level corridor at its south entrance. Although the School Board considered closing the school in the 1970s, Lowell continued to serve south-central Salina until 2002. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 2020 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas. Located at 1009 South Highland Avenue in Salina, Kansas, it now serves as the Salina Christian Academy. |
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| Marymount College – Administration Building | Saline |
 Old Administration Building at Marymount College Marymount College was a four-year liberal arts college in Salina, Kansas, opened in 1922 as a women’s college. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kansas, established this building as the Nazareth Academy for girls. Marymount closed in June 1989, a year with an enrollment of 653 students. This three-story blond brick Collegiate Gothic-style building has a flat roof with a pitched roof on the chapel with red tile shingles. There are stained glass windows in the chapel. The main entrance on the west is located in a large stone archway. Smooth-cut native stone block and pointed arches lintels. There is a castle-like appearance along the roofline. Six turret-like towers are in the center of the building. The property now serves as the Marymount Properties Condominium at 2035 East Iron Avenue in Salina, Kansas. |
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| Paul Laurence Dunbar | ?? | Saline | 1922-1955 |
 Paul Laurence Dunbar School The old Paul Laurence Dunbar School was a segregated school. In 1920, Salina had surpassed 15,000 residents, making it a “first-class” city, which authorized the city to maintain separate schools for white and African American children under the General Statutes of Kansas. The school board held a special election in 1921, and the bond to fund the first segregated school in Salina passed by less than 500 votes (1495 for/1032 against). The school was erected in 1922 in the northeast part of town, in an area once known as “The Bottoms,” a hub of the black community. It was a kindergarten through 8th grade school. In establishing the Paul Laurence Dunbar School, the Salina Board of Education followed a national trend of operating public schools for blacks and whites. Before that time, schools in Salina were integrated. The two-and-a-half-story brick building with a flat roof was designed in the Early-Mid 20th Century style. It had a complete “building plant,” seven classrooms, an auditorium, a gymnasium, a kindergarten, and faculty offices. The school was named in honor of African-American author and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, employing six African-American teachers (four female and two male) and a principal. Robert C. Caldwell, a teacher and a principal at the school, went on to serve three terms as Salina’s first African-American mayor and was subsequently elected to the Kansas state legislature. The original enrollment for Dunbar School was 72 students. Enrollment increased to 80 in 1923-1924. The Dunbar School was considered a Community Center, with many organizations and entities holding events: a Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troop, a Parent-Teacher Organization, community church programs, a YWCA, etc. Soon after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling that stated “separate but equal” education violated the 14th Constitutional Amendment, Dunbar and similar schools in Kansas and 20 other states became integrated. Dunbar closed in 1955 due to declining enrollment. The St. Francis Academy purchased the building in 1958. In 2023, the building was sold to CKF Addiction Treatment, Inc. It is located at 509 East Elm Street in Salina, Kansas. |
| Smolan High School | 4 | Saline | 1926-1987 |
 Smolan High School Classes were in session at Smolan High School from 1926 to 1950. The last graduating class had three students. Elementary and junior high classes were then held there until the school closed in 1987. In 1996, the school was occupied by the Hickory Tree BBQ Restaurant. However, it is gone today. The school, located at S 3rd Street in Smolan, Kansas, is hidden by dense trees. |
| Theodore Roosevelt Junior High | Saline | 1925 |
 Theodore Roosevelt Junior High This old three-story H-shaped brick structure comprises two historic school buildings separated by a restored green space. Charles W. Shaver designed the Roosevelt School in the Gothic Revival style with a flat roof and parapet. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2006 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas. Now serving as Pioneer Presidents’ Place, a senior housing facility located at 210 W. Mulberry Street in Salina, Kansas. |
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| State Park | ?? | Scott | 1920-?? |
 State Park School This one-story rectangular building with a gable front was designed in the vernacular style. The front entrance faces south and has an attached entryway. A brick chimney is in the front of the building, and a flag pole still stands just to the Northeast. Vacant today, State Park School is on K-95 Highway in the Pence vicinity. |
| Derby | 6 | Sedgwick | 1923-1985 |
 Derby Public School Derby Public School was constructed in 1923. It served grades 1-12 until 1956 when a new high school was built. This building became an elementary school and continued to function until 1985. The two-story Collegiate Gothic-style brick-with-stone building has its original doors. The building now serves as the Derby Historical Society & Museum at 716 E Market Street. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 2014. |
| Friends University – University Hall | NA | Sedgwick | 1888-Present |
 University Hall University Hall of Friends University was erected as the main building of Garfield University from 1886 to 1888. Garfield University opened in September 1887. Before its first year ended, Garfield enrolled about 500 students, and for the second year, 1070. At the time, it occupied the largest single building used for educational purposes west of the Mississippi River. After graduating its first and only senior class, Garfield University closed its doors in 1890 due to financial difficulties. The school was reorganized and opened again in March 1892 as Garfield Central Memorial University. It closed for good on November 18, 1893. On September 21, 1898, it reopened as Friends University, and the building was renamed Davis Administration Building for James Davis, who purchased the property. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 1971. It is located at 2000 West University Avenue in Wichita, Kansas. |
| Kellogg Elementary | ?? | Sedgwick | 1941 |
 Kellogg Elementary School The first Kellogg School, a Richardsonian Romanesque-style building, was completed in 1890. It was not until the 1910s and 1920s that the neighborhood surrounding Kellogg School was fully developed, with small bungalows and cottages surrounding it. By 1935, overflowing classrooms necessitated temporary buildings northeast of the main building. The school district hired local architects Overend and Boucher to design the new Kellogg School, and Dondlinger and Sons Construction Company was awarded the contract with a successful bid of $113,980. Construction of the Art Moderne school was completed just in time for the opening day of school on September 8, 1941. The two-story blond brick rectangular school building was built in the Streamlined/Art Moderne style. The school was closed in 1996. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2011. It was purchased for conversion to apartments. It is located at 1220 East Kellogg Drive, Wichita, Kansas. |
| Martinson School | Sedgwick | ?? |
 Old Martinson School  Old Martinson School Interior The old two-story brick Martinson School, located at 249 North Athenian in the Delano District of Wichita, Kansas, now serves as apartments. |
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| McCormick School | Sedgwick | 1890-?? |
 Old McCormick School This two-and-a-half-story rectangular stone building was built in the Romanesque Revival style and includes twin two-story polygonal towers linked by an archway flanking the main entry, a central bell tower, and large windows. In 1930, an addition was made to the building. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 1978. Owned by the Wichita School District, the building is mostly vacant, but portions are used as a museum, and other portions are used for various non-profit organizations and school district uses. The old McCormick School is at 855 South Martinson Street in Wichita, Kansas. |
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| Meridian | ?? | Sedgwick | 1910-?? |
 Old Meridian School  Old Meridan School Interior This one-room school was moved several times as an additional classroom where additional space was needed. The school remained at the Meridian School at 301 S. Meridian for 12-14 years prior to being moved to the Old Cowtown Museum. The school board donated the structure and its contents to the Old Cowtown Museum in 1962. The school was donated, complete with its contents. The Vernacular-style rectangular wood-frame school has an operating bell tower complete with a historic school bell from Wichita’s school system. The front entrance of the school has a sheltered porch awning with sides. The awning roof and sides are board and batten construction. It is located at 1865 Museum Boulevard at the Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita, Kansas. |
| Peck | ?? | Sedgwick | 1890 |
 Peck Schol in 1887.  Old Peck School This one-story wood-frame L-shaped building was designed in the Vernacular with a Cross-gable roof. The Belltower on the East end is no longer present. It serves as a residence today. It is located at 11953 South Meridian Street and West 119th Street, just north of the Sumner County Line. |
| Richmond | 64 | Sedgwick | 1875-1942 |
 Richmond School The Richmond Hill School is a one-story, wood-frame building built in 1875. The last term at Richmond Hill School was a single semester in 1941-42. The school district was reorganized in 1946 and unified with the Clearwater district in 1947. The school was initially located at the northwest corner of 95th Street South and Tyler Road in the Ohio Township. It was saved from demolition by area residents, and in June 2008, it was relocated to the City Park adjacent to the Historical Museum in nearby Clearwater. It is thought to be the oldest surviving one-room schoolhouse in Sedgwick County. It was listed on the Kansas State Register of Historic Places in 2010. It is located at 149 North 4th Street in Clearwater. |
| Sunnyside Elementary | Sedgwick | 1917-1996 |
 Old Sunnyside Elementary School In 1912, Wichita boasted 20 public school buildings, but by 1916, there were not enough buildings to accommodate the city’s growing population. Among the neighborhoods needing an elementary school was the Sunnyside Addition, which stretches from Kellogg on the north to Gilbert on the south and from Hillside on the east to Dixon on the west. The school district hired local architect Lorentz Schmidt and the firm Vandenburg and Pauley to construct the building. Construction was completed in early 1917, and additions were made in 1920 and 1923. The growing neighborhood was impacted by the expansion of Kellogg Avenue in 1955, and as traffic increased, it was no longer possible for pedestrians to safely cross Kellogg. In 1977, the highway was expanded to six lanes, and safety dictated that a pedestrian walkway be constructed to allow students and others to cross Kellogg near the Sunnyside School. Despite strong opposition from the neighborhood, Sunnyside School closed in 1996. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2011 as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas nomination. This one-and-a-half-story U-shaped building commercial-style building has a flat roof with a parapet. It is located at 2003 East Kellogg Avenue in Wichita. |
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| Wichita High School | ?? | Sedgwick | 1911-?? |
 Old Wichita Highschool The old Webster School was razed to clear the site for the new Wichita High School at 3rd and Emporia. A new High School was built in 1928, and this building became part of the Technical College. This three-story rectangular brick building was built in the Collegiate Gothic style with a flat roof and parapet. It features a brick exterior with stone quoins at the building’s corners. Two slightly projecting crenelated towers flank the central entrance. Above the entrance on the corbels beneath the second-story windows are sculpted figures representing educational themes. The old school has stone detailing and five bays with stone quoining on the end and center entry bay, Gothic-arched entry, and a raised half story above grade. There is a one-story concrete boiler room and shop on the south and a one-story brick garage with a gable roof in the rear. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for architectural significance as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas in October 2009. It now serves as Flats 324 Apartments and 324 N. Emporia Avenue in Wichita, Kansas. |
| Wright | ?? | Sedgwick | ||
| Liberal High School | ?? | Seward | ?? |
 Liberal High School This three-story red brick Collegiate Gothic-style building is boarded up and abandoned today. It is located at 115-17 W 6th Street in Liberal, Kansas. |
| Riverside | Seward | 1890 |
 Riverside School Riverside School is a one-story rectangular wood-frame building with a gable roof designed in the vernacular style. It is located at 567 Cedar Street in Liberal, Kansas. The old school was moved to the Coronado Museum and several other buildings. |
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| Shawnee County Schools | Various | Shawnee | 1855-Present | The county superintendent’s office records furnish little information about the schools before 1865. The reports from that date to 1880 are more complete, and those from 1880 to 1892 are full and in excellent order. |
| Edson | ?? | Sherman | 1931-1960s |
 Edson School This T-shaped two-story brick and stone school has a large brick gym addition on the east side. The school was closed in the 1960s, and the building was sold to a private individual. It is located on 64 Road, one-half mile south of Highway 24 on the southeast edge of Edson, Kansas. |
| Grant Junior High School | ?? | Sherman | 1926-2015 |
 Grant Junior High Grant School was built in 1926 to relieve overcrowding at other public schools in Goodland. It served the community as an elementary school from 1926 to 1969 and then as a junior high school until 2015. The opening of Grant School coincided with the addition of Kindergarten to the district’s curriculum, resulting in the district’s first purpose-built Kindergarten classroom. The central square bell tower has a pyramidal roof. The school exhibits the Late Gothic Revival style and is a two-story red brick building. It was nominated to the National Historic Register of Historic Places as part of the “Historic Public Schools of Kansas” multiple property nomination for its local significance in education and architecture. It was placed on the register in July 2015. It is located at 520 West 12th Street in Goodland, Kansas. |
| Hillside | 06 | Sherman | About ten miles north of Ruleton | |
| Ruleton | ?? | Sherman | 1928-?? |
 Ruleton School This two-story brick school was built in the vernacular style with a flat roof and parapet. It was built after a bond vote to raise $22,500 was passed by a vote of 44 to 26 on March 17, 1928. In 1941, a tornado hit the school, and the auditorium-gymnasium in the center of the school was extensively damaged. It was rebuilt in the same style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 2003. It was deemed historically significant for its usage as a school and as a community center. It is located at 6450 Ruleton Avenue in the extinct town of Ruleton, Kansas. |
| Silver Ridge | 50 | Smith | 1905 |
 Silver Ridge School The Silver Ridge School was built in the vernacular style in about 1905 in rural Cedar, Kansas. In about 1963, the school was moved from its original location to the elementary school grounds in Smith Center. It was used for special education, art, and other classes. Once the new school was built in Smith Center, the one-room schoolhouse was no longer needed. In 1973, it was auctioned off and purchased by a local individual who was planning to use it for a shop. A few years later, it was moved to the backyard at 120 East Francis Street. Recent reports indicate that the owner plans to move the building to a lot at the southeast corner of Francis and Monroe Street and restore the one-room schoolhouse. It is located on West Francis Street in Smith Center, Kansas. |
| Livingston | ?? | Stafford | South of St. John | |
| Radium | ?? | Stafford | 1930-?? |
 Radium School This one-story rectangular brick school was built in the commercial style with a flat roof. It has a large auditorium/gymnasium with a gable roof with a parapet on gable ends. This deteriorating building appears to serve as a residence today. It is located at 1479 SW 80th Avenue in Radium, Kansas. |
| Zenith | Stafford | 1950-?? |
 Zenith School This one-story rectangular brick building was designed in the Modern/Modern Movement style with a flat roof and stone surround at the central entry with a glass block transom and sidelights. The interior has terrazzo corridors, glazed tile wainscoting, plaster walls, and acoustic tile ceilings. It is located at 103 Sherman Street in Zenith, Kansas. |
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| Belleview | 68 | Sumner | 1894-1956 |
 Belleview School. The one-room Belleview School was built in 1894. It served rural students in Sumner County until it closed in 1956. A bell tower once graced the gable, but it was removed sometime after the 1950s. After Belleview School closed in 1956, the building was used as a polling place until 1998. It then sat vacant for nearly 15 years before the township sold it to the current owners, who relocated it to their nearby farm in 2009. It is listed on the State Register of Historic Places. It is part of the Country School Museum at 1172 S Springdale Rd, 1/8 mile east of Springdale Rd on 120th S Rd near Caldwell. |
| Mt. Pleasant | 193 | Sumner | ?? |
 Mt. Pleasant School This old brick school is in Section 20 of Morris Township at the northeast corner of KS-44 and Blackstone Road in Southwest Sumner County. |
| Queen’s School | 94 | Sumner | 1885 |
 Old Queen’s School The one-story rectangular wood-frame building, with a gable front roof, was designed in the vernacular style. It is located at 1400 S. Hydraulic Road in Portland, Kansas. |
| Spring Creek | 36 | Sumner | 1904-1947 |
 Spring Creek School Spring Creek School was built in 1904 at its original location south of Corbin, Kansas. It closed in 1947 and was used as the Spring Creek Community Club for many years. It then fell victim to vandalism and was moved to its present location in 2016. The building was restored and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is part of the Country School Museum at 1172 S Springdale Rd, 1/8 mile east of Springdale Rd on 120th S Rd near Caldwell. |
| Stony Point | 50 | Sumner | ?? |
 Stony Point School The old Stony Point school and some of its playground equipment still stands in Drury, Kansas. |
| Colby | 315 | Thomas | 1935-Present |
 Colby Grade School The school is located at 710 W 3rd Street in Colby, Kansas. The Works Project Administration constructed it as a high school in 1935. It currently serves as a grade school. In December 2003, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. |
| Nicol | 15 | Thomas | ?? | The one-room Nicol School building symbolizes many of the 94 one-room rural schools that once dotted the landscape in Thomas County. School consolidation in the 1930s closed many of the country schools in the county. This school now sits at the Prairie Museum in Colby, Kansas. |
| Sod School | 60 | Thomas | The use of sod to build homes and schools was common on the Kansas prairie due to the lack of wood and other natural resources. There are no original sod schools still standing in Thomas County; however, one has been recreated at Prairie Museum in Colby, Kansas.
 Sod school  Recreated sod school |
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| Pleasant Valley | 4 | Trego | ||
| Trego County | ?? | Trego | 1920 |
 Old chool in Trego County This one-story T-shaped wood frame building was designed in the vernacular style with a hip roof, thin board siding, and a brick chimney. It is vacant and located on Y Road in the Collyer vicinity. |
| Wilcox | 29 | Trego | 1886 |
 Wilcox School The old Wilcox School is a one-story rectangular stone building designed in the commercial style with a gable-front roof. The Niobrara limestone was quarried from the banks of the Smoky Hill River. Two unique entry gables are progressively smaller than the main block. It has two front entrances with three windows on the adjacent sides and a chimney at the rear. In May 2006, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was nominated for its association with early local education and as one of the few remaining historic rural schools in Trego County as part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas nomination. In 2011, the building was awarded a Heritage Trust Fund Grant and began rehabilitation. It now serves as the High Plains Gravel Grinders Motorcycle Clubhouse. It is located on K-283 Highway 15 miles south of Wakeeney, Kansas. |
| Wilcox | 29 | Trego | 1886-1947 |
 Wilcox School Wilcox School is one of the last remaining rural schoolhouses in Trego County. Its native limestone was quarried along the Smoky Hill River in 1886. The school was named for William Wilcox, the first settler and postmaster of Wilcox Township. The school served grades 1-8. It also served as a church from 1890 to the 1940s. The building remained active for 60 years as a school and community center. After the school closed in 1947, the building became the clubhouse of the Hi-Plains Gravel Grinders Motorcycle Club. This site has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006. It is located on Highway 283, 15 miles south of WaKeeney. |
| Cottonwood | 71 | Wabaunsee | 1885-?? |
 Cottonwood School Now called the Cottonwood Community Club, this old native stone school’s interior still features its original wood ceiling, chalkboard, and light fixtures. The Cottonwood School is located near the far north edge of Wabaunsee Township. It is on the southwest corner of K-99 & Wells Creek Road, one and one-half miles south of Wamego. 39966 K-99 Highway. |
| Eskridge Grade School | Wabaunsee | 1921 |
 Eskridge Grade School The old Eskridge Grade School is a rectangular two-story brick and stone building. The interior is intact, with plaster walls, ceilings, concrete floors, original doors, trim, and a gymnasium. It was built as a grade school in 1921 when the junior high moved to the old high school building next door. This building later closed when the junior high consolidated, and elementary moved to the old High School next door. It is located at 508 E. 2nd Street. |
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| Halifax | 14 | Wabaunsee | Halifax Schoolhouse, Wabaunsee, Kansas | |
| Hinerville | 15 | Wabaunsee | 1898-?? |
 Hinerville School Located at 28001 Hinerville Road, in Alma, Kansas. The first school was organized at Hinerville in 1869, and this school was built in 1898. Today, the building serves as an Airbnb. |
| Paxico | Wabaunsee | 1922-Present |
 Paxico The old Paxico Rural High School, built in 1922, is an early example of a high school from the school consolidation movement in Kansas. To counter the school attendance problems the town had faced recently, school officials enticed the local Catholic population with parochial school design elements, including a morning chapel and separate entrances for the sexes to draw in the needed students. The building remained a high school until 1974, when, in a move by the district, the school was closed with the intent to bus students to nearby Alma. The sudden closure of the school brought about a civil rights suit and subsequent appeal for the closing of the school. Afterward, the school was put into use as a junior high school and currently retains that status. It is located at 112 Elm Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 2022. |
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| Mogge | 83 | Wabaunsee | The Mogge School is located in northwest Mill Creek Township. | |
| Rockton | 28 | Wabaunsee | ?? |
 Rockton School This rectangular vernacular-style one-story stone school is located on Nehring Branch Road in the Hessdale vicinity. It has a wood-frame entry with a bell and a gable-front roof. The property also has an outhouse.
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| Schoolhouse #18 | 18 | Wabaunsee | 1880 |
 Schoolhouse #18 This one-story, wood-frame, one-room school was designed in the vernacular style with a front-gabled roof. H.H. Meseke owned the property containing the building in its early years. He and his wife, Caroline, are identified as German immigrants in available census records and lived in the area as early as 1860, suggesting the school may have been associated with the local German community. A single-hinged wood panel entry door with a dormer skylight punctuates the primary facade. A concrete and metal wheelchair ramp has replaced the original stairs and railing. It serves as a meeting house for the Spring Creek Community Club today. It is located on West Spring Creek Road near Volland, Kansas. |
| Snokomo | 32 | Wabaunsee | 1890-1941 |
 Snokomo Schoolhouse The Snokomo one-room schoolhouse served students of all ages until compulsory education laws restricted attendance to grades 1 through 8 in the early 1900s. The length of the Snokomo School year fluctuated in the 19th and early 20th centuries, averaging about seven months a year. The school served from 1890 until 1941, when consolidation forced its closure. Afterward, the Snokomo Silent Worker Club purchased and utilized the building as a clubhouse. The school is located eight miles south of Paxico on Snokomo Road. |
| Volland | 26 | Wabaunsee | 1906-1957 |
 Volland School The Volland School was built in 1906 after its predecessor was destroyed by fire. It closed its doors in 1957 and remained vacant until it was purchased by a local family and restored. The Volland School is located on old K10 Road, south of Alma and north of Alta Vista, just southwest of the ghost town of Volland. |
| Wabaunsee | 1 | Wabaunsee | 1888-1948 |
 Wabaunsee Grammar School Built in 1888, this frame building, measuring 26′ x 40′, served grades 1-8. The original entrance featured a vestibule and two cloakrooms, each providing access to the main schoolroom. The grammar school building had no plumbing when it served as an educational facility and only received electricity in 1946. This integrated school district had over 20 African-American students enrolled in 1893. The school served until 1948 when a new brick schoolhouse was erected. The building was eventually converted into a one-bedroom, single-family residence and remains so today. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. It is located at 31794 Center Street in Wabaunsee. |
| Wabaunsee County | ?? | Wabaunsee | 1890-?? |
 Wabaunsee County School This one-story rectangular stone school was designed in the vernacular style with a gable-front metal roof and a bell tower over the front entrance. Wooden entry to the south may have been added later, and the metal on the bell tower is more recent. The vacant building is oriented north-south, facing Nehring Branch Road. It is located at 24043 Nehring Branch Road near Alma, Kansas. |
| Wilmington | ?? | Wabaunsee | 1870-1950 |
 Wilmington School Wilmington was organized in 1858, and the stone school was built in 1870. The businesses moved there when the Manhattan, Burlingame & Alma Railway was built through Harveyville four miles north. The Stone School and the Church of Christ were built in 1870. The population in 1910 was 69. The school closed in 1950 but still stands. The church also still stands, serving a tiny area population. It is 25 miles southeast of Alma, the county seat, and six miles west of Burlingame in Osage County. |
| Wallace High | ?? | Wallace | 1924-1990s |
 Old Wallace High School This two-story rectangular brick building with stone detailing was designed in the commercial style with a flat roof and parapet. After closing in the 1990s, it was sold and converted into a residence. A one-story brick building stands south of the old school. It is located at 1610 N Main Street in Wallace, Kansas. |
| Bismark | 111 | Washington | ?? |
 Bismark School District 11 This old limestone school is two miles west of Hanover, Kansas. |
| Brantford | 1 | Washington | 1880-?? |
 Brantford School This old one-room schoolhouse was established in 1880. The one-and-a-half-story wood-frame building is located at 131 10th Road in the vicinity of Clyde, Kansas, in Washington County. It now serves as the Brantford Community Center. |
| Cedar Green | 99 | Washington | ?? |
 Cedar Green School |
| Eagle | 3 | Washington | 1897-?? |
 Eagle School District 3.  Eagle School, 1900s. |
| Emmons | 2 | Washington | 1878-1861 |
 Emmons School. Emmons School House was the center of the community and was used as a voting place, meeting hall, and church services. It was one of the last one-room schools to close in the county. The schoolhouse was about three-quarters of a mile west on the north side of the road from the town of Emmons. The school was moved to Washington by the Washington County Historical Society. It is now located on the square’s southeast corner, close to the Museum. |
| Lowe Center | 115 | Washington | 1884-1953 |
 Lowe Center School The Lowe Center School was built in 1884 in response to a growing rural population in Washington County in the early 1880s. School attendance records note between 20 and 35 students enrolled in the early 20th century. The school served rural residents of this area until it closed in 1963. The wood frame has clapboard siding and a gable roof with a bell tower. There are two outhouses behind the school. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. It is located at the southwest corner of Indian Road and 27th Road near Morrowville. |
| Mahaska Rural High School | 3 | Washington | 1927-1974 |
 Old Mahaska Rural High School The Mahaska Rural High School remained viable as an independent four-year high school until about 1955 when the dwindling population closed some of the local rural elementary schools and caused their students to be bused to Mahaska. Some elementary classes were blended into the school in the 1955-1956 academic year. The last high school class graduated in 1966, and the building was changed to a middle school by creating the Unified School District 221 with nearby Haddam and Morrowville students. This change lasted only a year when elementary classes, including a Kindergarten class, were added. The middle school classes were discontinued in 1972, and the remaining grade school classes continued to use the building until 1974. The building was converted into a library and community center in 1975 but closed in 1989 and remained vacant until 2008. Today, the two-story, brick-veneered, Collegiate Gothic-style building is a multi-dwelling facility called Mahaska Lofts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 2007 for its architectural significance, reflecting the planning principles of the Progressive Era of Kansas’s public schools as defined in the “Historic Public Schools of Kansas” multiple property submission. It is located at School Street and Henry Streets in Mahaska, Kansas. |
| MacArthur | ?? | Washington | Near Haddam | |
| Maple | 75 | Washington |
 Maple School, District #75. |
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| Sunflower | 114 | Washington | 1886-1960 |
 Sunflower School District #114 This school is seven miles northwest of Hanover |
| Union | 68 | Washington | ?? |
 Union School, District #68. This school building in Washington County is located on 2nd Road near Bremen, Kansas. Go west from Marysville on Highway 36 to Bremans Corner, and turn north towards Breman for 1/2 mile. |
| Sunflower | ?? | Washington | ||
| District #3 | 3 | Wilson | 1921-?? |
 District #3 This Neoclassical one-and-a-half-story brick building is about two miles west of Fredonia on Finley Road. It serves as a residence today. |
| Grandvalley | 59 | Wilson | 1871-1911 |
 Grandvalley School This vernacular-style red brick building is significantly deteriorated. It is located on Gove Road near Fredonia, about 2.5 miles north of US400 Highway. The parcel address is 5765 Finney Road. |
| New Albany | ?? | Wilson | 1947-?? |
 Old New Albany School This rectangular one-story brick school, with a gable roof, was built in the Early-Mid 20th-century minimal Commercial style. Located at 502 Main Street in New Albany, Kansas, it now functions as New Albany City Hall. |
| Carlisle | 09 | Woodson | ||
| Finney | 49 | Woodson | ||
| Kalaida | ?? | Woodson | East of Yates Center | |
| Maple Grove | 37 | Woodson | ||
| Owl Creek | ?? | Woodson | Owl Creek Township | |
| Parallel | 65 | Woodson | ||
| Pleasant Valley | ?? | Woodson | 1881-1952 |
 Pleasant Valley School Pleasant Valley School, made of native sandstone, was built in 1881 on the outskirts of Yates Center. It was also used for social events. After it closed in 1952, the 4-H Club used it for many years. It is located along U.S. Highway 75 in southern Woodson County, south of Yates Center. |
| Liberty Township | ?? | Woodson | It is located along U.S. Highway 75 in Liberty Township, in northern Woodson County, north of Yates Center. | |
| Star | 23 | Woodson |
 Star School The Star School House is a one-room stone building seven miles northwest of Piedmont, Kansas. |
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| West Buffalo | 28 | Woodson | Buffalo | |
| Woodson County | ?? | Woodson | 1881-?? |
 Woodson County School This one-story rectangular stone building was designed in the vernacular style with a gable front roof and interior ridge chimney. It was built of rough-cut, coursed ashlar sandstone with a later gable-front addition of coursed, rusticated concrete blocks. There is a recessed entry door in the west or front gable. After the school closed, it was utilized as a 4-H clubhouse and meeting room. Its function today is unknown. It is located at 403 U.S. 75 Highway. |
| Bonner Springs | Wyandotte | 1960 |
 Old Bonner Springs School This one-story T-shaped brick school designed in the Modern/Modern Movement style has a flat roof. The old school does not appear to be in current use. It is located at 115 N 134th Street, just north of Bonner Springs, Kansas. |
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| Franklin Elementary | ?? | Wyandotte | 1898 |
 Franklin Elementary The two-and-a-half-story stone building is built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 2013. The school closed in May of 1972 and sat vacant for several years before it was sold in 1978 to the Franklin Center, Inc., which operated the building as a community building until recently. It is currently boarded up and awaiting rehabilitation. It is located at 1403 Metropolitan Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. |
| Horace Mann | Wyandotte | 1909-1968 |
 Horace Mann Kansas City, Kansas School District architect William W. Rose designed this three-story red brick building in a restrained Classical Revival style. The symmetrical masonry building featured classrooms around a central stair tower and specialized manual training and assembly rooms. Elements of the Classical Revival style include engaged pilasters, multi-light windows, a rusticated stone base, and classical cornice elements. Joseph Radotinsky designed a 1939 addition to the east end of the building, which blended well with the massing and materials of the original building. The building functioned as an elementary school through 1939, when it was converted to use by the Kansas City Junior College, which occupied the building until 1968. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2012. At some point, it was remodeled for multiple dwelling purposes and became known as Horace Mann Lofts in 2022. It is located at 824 State Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas. |
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| Kansas City, Kansas High School Gymnasium and Laboratory | ?? | Wyandotte | 1923 |
 KCK High School Gym & Laboratory The three-story freestanding building has brick cladding and a deck on the hip roof with a dentillated stone cornice. A two-story wing that is one bay wide projects from the south side of the primary elevation. Paired glazed wood doors with divided-light wood transom fill the first-story opening. A three-bay wide entrance projects slightly from the center of the primary elevation. Stone columns support the pedimented first-story entrance. The rectangular building was designed in the Italian Renaissance style. This building was individually listed in the National Register in January 2012, and it also retains the integrity of being a contributing resource to a potential Downtown Kansas City Historic District significant for civic and community development. The building is at 1017 N 9th Street, Kansas City, Kansas. |
| Kansas City University – St. Augustine Hall | NA | Wyandotte | 1896 |
 St. Augustine Hall St. Augustine Hall was initially built as Mather Hall of Kansas City University in 1896 for $30,000. Dr. Samuel Fielding Mather, descendant of the famous theologian Cotton Mather, desired to see a college established in Kansas City and gave the Methodist Protestant Church tracts of land on the condition they erect suitable college buildings. Another of the early promoters and backers of Kansas City University was H. J. Heinz, the pickle millionaire. In 1913, Campbell College of Holton, Kansas, under the control of the United Brethren in Christ Church, merged with Kansas City University. The two religious denominations jointly operated the school until 1926, when the Methodists withdrew and the United Brethren bought out their interest. The final years of the school’s operation were difficult; in 1930, the United Brethren Board of Education decided to drop all support for the school. In 1932, the mortgage against the school was foreclosed, and the property was sold to the Augustinian Order of the Catholic Church. Mather Hall then became St. Augustine Hall. This three-story T-shaped red brick building was built in the Romanesque Revival style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 1971. It is located at 3301 Parallel Parkway in Kansas City, Kansas. |
| Louisa M. Alcott Elementary School | Wyandotte | 1900 |
 Louisa M. Alcott Elementary School The old two-and-a-half-story red brick Louisa M. Alcott Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas, was built in the Commercial style. The vacant building is located at 180 South 18TH Street. |
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| Lowell Elementary School | Wyandotte | 1898-1980 |
 Old Lowell Elementary School The old Lowell Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas, is in the Riverview Neighborhood. It was named in honor of poet James Russell Lowell. The blonde brick two-and-a-half story was built in the Classical Revival style. The school’s original eight classrooms were built in 1898, but William Rose designed an addition in 1905 that unified the front elevation. He also consulted on a 1922 addition to the building. Students in grades one through seven attended Lowell Elementary School until 1980, when it was used as a warehouse. The building was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance in January 2008. Serving as an apartment building today, it is located at 1040 Orville Avenue. |
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| Major Hudson Elementary School | Wyandotte | 1924-1983 |
 Old Major Hudson Elementary This Neoclassical-style three-story brick building was constructed as part of a significant expansion of public school buildings from 1919 to 1924. Located in the newly annexed Rosedale district of Kansas City, Kansas, Major Hudson Elementary School was the site of a segregation controversy of national significance. In September 1924, four Mexican schoolchildren were denied admission by a group of Anglo parents in what contemporary media described as a “near race riot.” Over the next 18 months, at the persistent urging of Mexican diplomats, the U.S. State Department intervened and eventually succeeded in requiring the Kansas City, Kansas School District to educate the Mexican students. While classes for Mexican students had been formed in the basements of the other two schools, Mexican students were denied admission to Major Hudson altogether. Instead, the school district appointed a teacher to instruct Mexican pupils at the old Melville School that Major Hudson replaced. As part of the larger controversy over the creation of segregated Mexican schools in the “separate but equal” era following the Supreme Court’s 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, Major Hudson stands out in that – unlike Emerson Elementary in Argentine and John J. Ingalls in Armourdale – Mexican students were never educated in the new building. Mexican-American students were integrated into Major Hudson, which operated continuously as an elementary school until it was closed due to declining attendance in 1983. The building was sold in 1985 to a private developer, who converted the building into Wyandotte County’s first residential condominium development. The architectural design reflects floor plans, style, and detailings consistent with other elementary schools in Kansas City, Kansas, and the school district designed by Rose and Peterson and constructed during this period. The rectangular plan with the central corridor extends across each floor’s middle. A four-classroom, single-story modern addition was built in 1966 and attached to the northeast elevation. The addition is connected to the original 1924 structure via a breezeway that encloses the original exterior doors and staircase on the northeast elevation. The late-1980s condominium conversion removed cast concrete fire stairs and enclosed cast concrete balconies on the northeast and southwest elevations with stucco panels. Some classrooms were combined or divided into multiple living spaces. Parts of the grounds, which are spread over 2.8 acres, were converted into covered parking, private patios, and common areas, and the northeast and southeast sections of the property remain heavily wooded. Now serving as Major Hudson Condominiums at 600 Shawnee Road, Kansas City, Kansas. |
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| Northeast Junior High School | ?? | Wyandotte | 1923-?? | The Northeast Junior High School is a four-story masonry structure constructed in 1923 as the first intermediate school to serve Kansas City’s African-American population. Rose and Peterson Architects designed the building with the same floor plan as Northwest Junior High, built in 1922 to serve the area’s white students. These twin schools were indicative of Kansas City’s citywide educational segregation that extended from the first grade through junior college.
The four-story brick building was designed in the Commercial-Italian Renaissance style. In October 2008, it was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for its educational history and architectural significance. It was constructed during the Progressive era in a commercial style with Beaux Arts stylistic influences. This building is part of the Historic Public Schools of Kansas. It now serves as Northeast Junior High Place Apartments at 400 Troop Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. |
| Theodore Roosevelt Elementary | ?? | Wyandotte | 1930-?? |
 Old Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School This one-and-a-half-story T-shaped brick building with a flat roof was designed in the Prairie style. It is located at 1303 N. 36th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, but its current use is unknown.
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| Vernon | Wyandotte | 1936-?? |
 Old Vernon School This one-story rectangular brick building, designed in the Art Deco style with a flat roof and parapet, was located in the old town of Quindaro, which was annexed to Kansas City, Kansas. Today, it serves as a Senior Citizens Community Center at 2700 Sewell Avenue.
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| Whittier | Wyandotte | 1922 |
 Whittaker School Whittier School’s construction helped alleviate the district’s overcrowding, specifically within the neighborhood surrounding the school. It replaced the first Whittier School, which had become a junior high school. When complete, Whittier School served as a dedicated elementary school serving neighborhood students in kindergarten through fifth grades…One feature of the new Whittier School was a dedicated kindergarten room. It was reportedly the first school in Kansas City designed to include a kindergarten room “in the original plans for the building. This three-story rectangular brick building was designed in the Late 19th & 20th Century Classical Revival style with a flat roof behind a parapet. A quarry-faced stone water table and dressed stone belt course clad the first-story walls. Bands of dressed stone rest at the top of the second and third-story window openings. Narrow three-story wings extend for one bay from the center of the east and west walls. The wings are a few feet shorter than the main building and are clad with identical elements. Each wing has an entrance in the north and south walls. Terra cotta coping caps the parapets, and a projecting terra cotta cornice with an egg-and-dart motif decorates the top of each wall. Engaged pilasters define most bays. Alterations to the interior of the school have been relatively minimal. The second and third-floor corridors, along with the classrooms, all retain their historic configuration. Nearly all historic finishes have been removed from the school’s interior, including wood floors, chair rails, millwork, and chalkboards. The building represents the educational trends of the Progressive Era and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2023. Vacant today, it stands at 290 S 10th Street in Kansas City, Kansas. |
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated December 2024.
Also See:
Sources:
Columbian History of Education in Kansas, Compiled by Kansas Educators, Kansas State Historical Society, 1893.
Douglas County, Kansas Rural and One-Room Schools
Encyclopedia of the Great Plains
Historic Public Schools of Kansas
Kansapedia
Kansas Geneology
Kansas GenWeb Project
Kansas Historic Resources Inventory
Kansas One Room Country Schools and Churches
Kansas One-Room School Houses
Kansas One Room Schools
Kansas One Room School House Project
Kansas Patriot
Wikipedia