Before your kids head back to school, take a trip back in time and explore one of the area’s old schoolhouses. Present Day youngsters can experience firsthand the life of school kids over 100 years ago.
Amsterdam School
Where: 1010 198th Place; Pella, Iowa 50219
Phone: 641-620-9338
Website: http://www.pellahistorical.org/
Hours: Open by appointment.
Over the years, the Pella Historical Society has developed into a Dutch-American Heritage Village Museum with 22 buildings and collections, including the Amsterdam School. You can take a self-guided tour of the grounds or call to schedule a tour inside the old schoolhouse.
Hickory Grove School
Where: Battin Chapel, juncture of old Highway 30 (E 41) and J Avenue between Ogden and Boone
Phone: (515) 432-1907
Website: http://boonehistorymuseums.org
Hours: Open by appointment.
Maintained by the Boone County Historical Society the school, originally built in 1889 in the northeastern corner of Yell Township, allows visitors to sit in desks once occupied by school children, peruse books they read, and see the school house’s potbelly stove. The building’s furnishings span the history of its 77 years.
Hoggatt School
Where: 5167 Skycrest Drive; Ames, Iowa 50010
Phone: (515) 233-2431
Website: http://www.ameshistory.org/
Hours: June, July and August; Saturday and Sunday 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm, except holidays and by appointment.
Hoggatt School played a dual role, first as a country school, and then as the first educational building in the city of Ames. The school was moved several times before its final relocation to the grounds of Meeker School. Learn about the history of education in Story County with a visit to the Hoggatt schoolhouse.
Kellogg Historical Museum
Where: 218 High Street; Kellogg, IA 50135
Phone: 641-526-3430
Hours: Weekdays 9:00 am – 4:00 pm and Sundays 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Admission: Donation
One of the attractions of the Kellogg Historical Museum is a one-room country school. With a slate blackboard and antique desks, children learn what school was like a century ago.
Tusha Country School & Log School
Where: 815 South Second Avenue; Winterset, IA 50273
Phone: (515) 462-2134
Website: http://historyonthehill.org/
Hours: Open daily from May 1 to October 31; Monday thru Saturday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm; Sunday 1:00 pm-5:00 pm.
Admission: Mansion or Museum: $3.00; Both: $5.00; Kids Under 12 FREE, if accompanied by an adult.
The Madison County Historical Society has developed into a complex which includes 14 buildings, including two schoolhouses. Learn as children did in times gone by. The Tusha Country School operated from 1878 to 1939. The Log School has been restored to an authentic 1850s look.
Walnut Hill School
Where: 11121 Hickman Road; Urbandale, IA 50322
Phone: (515) 278-5286
Website: http://www.lhf.org/
Hours: May 1 to August 27, Monday thru Saturday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, Sunday: Noon – 4:00 pm; September 2 to October 16, Wednesday thru Saturday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, Sunday: Noon – 4:00 pm.
Admission: Adults $14.75; Children (Ages 2-12) $9.00
Living History Farms is an interactive, 500-acre outdoor museum that tells the amazing story of how Iowans transformed the fertile prairies of the Midwest over 300 years into the most productive farmland in the world. One of the attraction’s sites, the town of Walnut Hill, represents a post-Civil War community in the Iowa farm belt including a one-room schoolhouse.
Washington Center Schoolhouse
Where: Main Street; State Center, IA
Phone: 641-483-2458
Website: http://www.statecenteriowa.org/
Hours: Open by appointment.
Admission: FREE
Washington Township School No. 6, then called Washington Center, was one of ten schools that made up the Washington Township School District. Washington School No. 6 served as a school until 1920 when the students began attending the LaMoille Consolidated School District. Washington Township School #6 was acquired by the State Center Historical Society in 2002; in 2003, the country schoolhouse was moved to State Center’s Main Street and restored.
Did I miss your favorite old schoolhouse? Let me know in the Comments below!
