Those are both good tips - thank you!
I did find a collection of essays at the Gilman Library and was able to develop a time line of the history of schools in Alton. At the turn of the century (1900, that is), there were 26 one-room school houses in the town! Some of those buildings are still standing, but very few - about three, I think. School was held mostly in the summer and at one point there was an agricultural center for the high school students to raise crops and farm animals! I knew there was an old trophy (1917, I think) that the boys had won from an oxen pulling contest they had entered. All very interesting.
The one thing from the past that rang true time and time again was the need to have the school in the center of town. It was a need "back then" and it's still mentioned to be a need whenever there's talk of a new school or renovations.
But why is it that the more you learn about something, the more questions you have? (Maybe I'm just a history geek?!)
