Photo 21-ISTN-18

Comments

This was previously the Mount Hope School at the intersection of Tower Road and Cedarville Road. The school operated through the 1956-57 school year. The September 20, 1956 edition of the Freeport Journal-Standard reported an enrollment of 19 students in its final year.

By this time, the beginning of the end of one-room schoolhouses had been in process for several years. In 1954 the Journal-Standard reported plans underway to build a new Jr/Sr high school in Dakota. The August 12, 1955 edition of the newspaper discussed a recent decision by the Illinois department of education to eliminate the teaching of all 8 grades of elementary school by one teacher. For the 1955-56 school year, grades fifth through eighth were taught at Mount Hope. First through fourth grades were taught at the nearby Pleasant Springs school.

The July 3, 1957 edition of the Freeport Journal-Standard reported that the school was sold at auction to Laverle Lingbeck on June 1, 1957 for $2,100.

Your Comment

Do you have a connection to this photograph? Maybe you grew up here or know someone who did? What has changed in the 60 years since this photo was taken? Tell us!