1910 Colfax Ilene Wood Ada Meharry
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By Mildred Small, 1920 About six years before the opening of the Civil War a small frame building was built by donation just south and a little east of the present residence of Mr. Roy Henderson and about one hundred yards north of where the road now is. This was the William Wiley School House and was within the present limits of what is now known as the Colfax District. The school house was about 18 X 22. The lumber had been sawed at the mill a few miles away. The frame was of oak, and the siding and shingles were of black walnut. The furniture, while not of the most approved kind, was at that time the most fashionable sort, and consisted of a few benches made of thick slabs from the sawmill about fourteen feet long. Holes were bored near the ends, into which long pins were driven for legs. The legs of the different benches were made of lengths best suited to the various sizes of the pupils. The back was left on the slabs, but the soft or sawed side was up. The desk was one table about sixteen feet long and three feet wide of rough walnut lumber, and would accomodate about a dozen pupils at one time seated on both sides. The teacher received about eighteen dollars a month and boarded round. The patrons who owned timber hauled in wood for the use of the school, load about, and the big boys took turns chopping it morning, noons and evenings. The house was also used as a church. Of the heads of the families residing in the district at that time were: Mrs. Nancy Wiley, Mr. and Mrs. W.G. Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. James R. Williams. The teachers from that time forward were Messrs. Wise, Henry Rich, Mahan, Stroud and James Green and Mr. W.H. Anderson in 1862-3-4. At this time there were sixty-five pupils enrolled of whom sixty were regular attendants. The house and benches were taxed to their utmost. Some of the pupils were Richard Williams, J.M. Williams, Mrs. J.W. Puett, William R. Wiley, Mrs. Alex Gillan, J.J. Wiley, Mrs. Lena Fincham, J.A. Thompson, R.P. Wood, Mrs. W.H. Anderson, Mrs. A.F. Anderson, Mrs. John Langstaff, M.F. Anderson, Ezra Henline, John T. Henline, Henry Henline and Mr. and Mrs. John T. Johnson. The teachers from that time to 1866 include Miss Taylor, Miss Hamilton, Nathan Ridgeway, Jane Benson and Jesse Benson. In the spring of 1866 it was decided to build a new schoolhouse and a site was selected on the Harpole land near where Mr. J.A. Harris now lives. The directors were James R. Williams, W.G. Anderson and John Bradford. The building was put up by Mr. Phillips and was about 20 X 36 with a stone foundation, equipped with patent seats and desks. It cost $1350 and the money was borrowed from a Bloomington bank, the directors giving their personal notes. The first teacher resigned after teaching two weeks and Mr. W.H. Anderson was employed for the winter of 1866-7-7-9. M.F. Anderson taught the winter term of 1870-1 then R. Williams three terms, Mr. Duffy and others. In the summer of 1881 the house was moved to Colfax, which had been established eighteen months before and was placed on a lot immediately west of the Methodist Church. George Loar taught in the summer of 1881 and was followed by H.W.Langstaff and J.W. Labertew. The town and school grew so fast it became necessary to rent a room downtown and hire an additional teacher, Miss Rose Clarke. Then it was decided to build a new school house which was built in the present location in 1883. T.J. Loar was the first principal and was followed by Mr. Gamble, Mrs. Jennie Green, Miss Nettie Bills, L.W. Haviland and F.C. Prowdley. The old school building was added to at various times until it was considered a veritable fire trap. On October 18, 1900 it took fire in the roof and was totally consumed. Although the fire occurred at eleven o'clock in the morning, all the pupils and teachers escaped unharmed and the greater part of the books and apparatus were saved. The new building, costing over $20,000 was erected and ready for occupation November 25, 1901. The faculty for 1901 was: Superintendent, Prowdley; High School, May Hotsenpiller and Harriet Stowell; 7th and 8th grades, Emma Tompkins; 5th and 6th grades, Sadie Hall; 4th and 5th grades, Rose Covington; 3rd and 2nd grades, Mrs. Cora Smith; 1st and 2nd, Lida Matheny. Credit should be given to the deceased W.H. Anderson for the above early history of the Colfax Schools. Superintendents of the Colfax School to 1921 were: May Hotenpiller, 1902-3-4-5; Mr. Alvia Ragsdale, 1906-7; Jack Pennington, 1908; James Smith, 1909-10-11; A.M. Wells, 1912; P.M. Hoke, 1913-14-15-16-17-18; V.L. Smith, 1919; L.W. Hacker, 1920. On Monday morning, January 26, 1903 the aforesaid $20,000 building was burned to the ground. The time and place of its starting showed it could not have been an accident but its origin was never discovered. Nothing was saved and over five hundred dollars worth of reference books owned by the teachers were destroyed. Frank H. Jahr and L.N. Cope were the contractors for the present schoolhouse. It is built on the same plan as the former except it has only two stories in place of three. Some of the outside walls are a part of the former building. The equipments are not as many or nice but this was impossible because the community was in such a great debt not having paid scarcely any on the debt contracted in building the former school. It is not so costly or large but still a build- ing for Colfax to be justly proud of as well as of the many successes of the community people due largely to the training received there.
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