Old Schools

by Rick Thurlo in 1998    

     The first Browning School building in Browning was built in 1883.  It had to be replaced in 1884.  The first high school was a three-year high school, and the first graduates were in 1895.  The 1884 building burned in 1916 and the brick building shown in slide show was opened in 1918. The first four-year graduates were in 1918.   There was no gym until the PWA   (Public Works Administration) built one in 1939.  In fact, the graduation of 1939 was the first event held in the gym.
   When the Linn County R-1 District was organized in 1950, three country school buildings were moved to Browning to provide enough space.  The school district also purchased two other neighboring buildings to be used for classrooms.  In the slide show you can see the "Old Browning School Building" and the "new addition" library (the photo was taken from a yearbook, hence the yellow artwork.)  Tommy Cordray has made the library addition into an automobile body shop.  
   The library addition was a tremendous educational facility. It contained the library, which included the study hall, plus the Learning Disabilities room and office for the LD teacher.  On the other side of the hall, was the superintendent's office and the secretary's office.  The whole area was completely climate controlled by electrical air conditioning and heating.  The addition was only used for seven years because of the building of our present building.  We used the library from 1974-'75 through 1980-'81.
   From 1918 until 1950, the mascot was the Browning Wildcat.  When the Linn county R-1 District was founded in 1950, the school was named Liberty High School and the mascot was the Liberty Eagle.  When the Linn County R-1 District was reorganized with Linneus in 1965, the school was again renamed.  This time the name was simply Linn County R-1, and the mascot was the Linn County R-1 Mustang.  The Browning building was the junior and senior high school during this period.
   The last year school was held in the building was 1981.  The building was sold at auction in the fall of 1981.  Before Mr. Cordray purchased the building, it went through several different owners.  In fact, at one time a family resided in the library addition.  Mr. Cordray purchased the building in the spring of 1994.  It took him a while to get the library converted into the shop.  He also tore down most of the old building.
   The new building was first used in 1981-1982 and is located about three miles east of Purdin, a location central to Linneus, Purdin and Browning.

    The Parson Creek Cabin, owned by Terry and Janelle Keithley, is located about 6 1/2 miles northwest of Browning on the site of the Russell School.  In fact, timbers from the Russell School were used in construction of the cabin.  The Russell School was named for the Russell farm, which was settled early in this area.  The school was in operation from before 1900; it closed after the 1952-1953 school year.

    The Enterprise School still stand on its second location.   The site is about 3 1/2 miles east and then about 1/2 mile south of Browning.   It is located just a little north and west of the site of the original town of Enterprise.  The Enterprise cemetery is located just east of the building.  he town of Enterprise thrived before the railroad came to Browning in 1972.  After that Enterprise, as a town quickly faded away.
   The first school building was located in the town of Enterprise.   The first recorded term of school was a summer term held in 1867.  At the beginning of the 1875-1876 school year, the school was moved to the present building.   There were both some form of high school and a primary school at this time with a total of 84 pupils enrolled.
   There is a record that shows most of the teachers from 1867 until 1940.   The final year for the school was the 1953-'54 school year.  We have been able to identify some of the teachers that taught from 1939 to1954:  Mrs. Donald (Marion Seals Palmer; Mrs. Dorothy Head Rumbarger, sister of the present Browning mayor Eldon Head.  The final teacher was the late Mrs. pansy Britton, who later taught many years at Brookfield.  The salary ranged from 27.50 per month for Ms. Floy Young in 1899, to $80 per month for Ms. Myrtle Rauer in 1939.  In 1939-40, there were sixteen students enrolled.
   After closing, the building was kept in good repair and used for the Enterprise Township voting precinct and also for a community center for a good many years.   The voting precinct is now closed.

    The Brookshire School is located about two miles northeast of Browning on land belonging to Paul and Sharon Stillwell. The school was named for the Brookshire family, a prominent early family in the area.  The school first opened before 1900.  The present building is much newer than most remaining country school buildings because it was built after the original building burned in the late 1920's.  School was last held in the building in the 1948-49 school year with Julius Mundell as the final teacher.  We would also liked to note that during the 1947-1948 school year, James Rheinhart, who is retiring this fall (1997) as a justice of the Missouri Court of Appeals, taught there.

    Grantsville School.  The school was moved to Browning after the reorganization of the Linn County R-1 District in 1950.  It was one of three country school buildings moved to Browning to provide extra space at that time.  The Grantsville building is the only one of the three still standing.  In the background, the remnants of the old Browning school can be seen.
   In Browning, the building was used as a first and second grade room during the 1950's.  It was converted to a science room in the 1960's, and from about 1970 until 1981, it was mainly used for math classes.  Mrs. Darlene Phillips taught math there for many years.
   The Grantsville School was originally located about 1 1/2 miles south and a little east of the present Linn County R-1 building.  The first Grantsville building was built in 1868 and was first opened for school during the 1868-1869 school year.
   There was also a post office and small town founded in the area in 1866.  The school and town were both named after General, and later President, Grant.   The town grew for several years until Purdin was founded on the railroad in 1873.   The town soon disappeared, but the school was busy.
   This building was built in 1923, replacing the original building.   It was built about 1/4 mile west of the original building.  The school was closed after the 1948-1949 school year and then was moved to Browning in 1950.

    The Smith School was located about three miles north and west of Browning in Sullivan County.   The school was named for the Smith family, early settlers in the area.  The school opened before 1900 and the last school year was 1949-1950.  After the school closed, the building was sold and moved about two miles (by road) to its present location on  land owned by Harve and Nadine (Gray) Harvey.  Over the years, the building has been used for a residence and for storage.

    The Bruner School Building, which is located southeast of Linneus, or east and north of Laclede.  It stands on its original site, just north of Highway 36 on Route PP and about 2 miles east of Laclede.   After the school closed, the building was used as a community center, and is still in relatively good condition.

    Oak Grove School is located southwest of Purdin, northwest of Linneus.  It is near the Johnny and Jane Anderson farm. The interior, as with most old schools has deteriorated from disuse.  The district was organized in the early 1880's.  The first building was a log structure and was located north of the building shown here.
   This building was built and opened in 1902.  It remained open until the end of the 1951-1952 school year.  Later, local residents purchased the building for a community center, and it was used for local "get togethers" and 4-H meetings for several years.  Now the Anderson family owns the property and uses the space for storing big hay bales and other farm purposes.

    Clapp School is located east of Shelby and sits on land belonging to Mrs. Geraldine Gooch.   It is in a rapid state of decline.  It was named for the Clapp family and is till found on its original location.  That location is east and north of Shelby, and 1/2 mile west of Route CC.  The building was well-made and had some fancy construction.
   After the school closed in the early 1950's, the building was sold.   The buyer removed the outer area and other usable materials.  The rest of the building was left and used by the Good farm for storage, livestock shelter and other purposes.

    Greenview School is located about four miles east of Linneus on Route P.  The school closed in the early 1950's.  Mrs. Lorene Deskins, a long-time Linn County R-1 teacher, taught there for a number of years.

    The Prairie Mound School building is no longer in existence, having been demolished shortly after this photo was taken in 1996.  It was moved about a mile from the original site and was used as a farm building for many years.  The original location was north and east of Browning, just north of Mrs. Eunice Sayre's home. It is near the present Premium Standard Farms South Meadows site.
   The school began operation soon after the Civil War.  The last year the school was open was the 1952-1953 school year.  Longtime Linn County R-1 teachers, Jean Miller and Jane Anderson, both were former students of Prairie Mound.   Their father, Porter Sayre, taught there the last few school years.  After the school closed, Mr. Sayre purchased the building and moved it to the Sayre farm about a mile west of the original location.  The Sayre family used the building for general farm purposes for many years, but eventually it fell into disrepair and had to be taken down.

    Plum Grove School is located about 1 1/2 miles west of Highway 5 about two miles north of Laclede.  The school was established in 1897 and was restored to a beautiful condition in 1995.  A reunion is held on a regular basis.   The building and grounds are a treasure of information about our rural school heritage.

    South Hooker School still stands on its original location, which is about 1/2 mile south of Route M, about 5 1/2 miles west of Browning.  The Hooker family was a very large and important family in the region.  There was a North Hooker School located in the Sullivan County side of the county line.  the building has been used for farm purposes since closing in the early 1950's.  The building and land is now owned by Tom and Amy Creason.

    Valley Dale school stands on its original location about four miles north and east of Linneus.  The land around the school has been owned by the Clark family for many years.  The school closed in the early 1950's.

    East Strawberry School was moved to this location after closing.  The school is located about four miles west of Linneus and about 1/2 mile north of Route B.  There was also a West Strawberry School.
   At the time of operation, most East Strawberry graduates went on to Linneus Public High School.  Later, after the closing, the district was re-organized into the Meadville R-4 District.  The building was moved to the present location on the McKerile farm and is used for corn and hay storage.

    Shelby school was in operation as a K-12 school until the 1949-1950 school year. Various elementary grades continued to go there until the 1962-1963 school year. Basketball was played on outside courts at that time.  The photo in the slide show shows one of the basketball teams from the 1938-1942 era.  Mrs. Goldie Belzer is at the far right in the front row.