School Index

Boardman township county schools

Upper Pony Hollow school, District No. 1, aka Cook school - The school is shown in section 11, Boardman twp. on the 1886 plat map of Clayton county, as well as subsequent maps. The school is just east of the railroad track that runs along Pony creek. A newspaper article about county schools printed in The Clayton County Register, February 18, 1954 gives the following information about this school: "...research through deed and abstract records of the county yields the [following ] information ... Boardman No. 1 lies in section 11, in Boardman township and is called the Cook school. It stands on a hillside in upper Pony Hollow on the Frank Bente farm. It was deeded to the district by A.D. Cook on Nov. 22, 1875."

Lower Pony Hollow school, District No. 2 - The 1886 Warner-Foote plat shows the school is located in Section 25 and annotates it as Boardman No. 1, this was the location of the first Pony Hollow school. The school was then located not far east of the lower Pony creek. Originally the school was in District No. I, and later in District No. II, Boardman twp. A newspaper article about county schools printed in The Clayton County Register, February 18, 1954 gives the following information about this school: "...research through deed and abstract records of the county yields the [following ] information ... Boardman No. 2 stands in section 25 in lower Pony Hollow. It was deeded to the district by Julius Hover on May 6, 1873. The building today does not stand on its original site. In 1847 when the county supervisors relocated the highway to get away from a bad bridge corssing, the new road ran right through the school ground. Consequently the county, when purchasing new right-of-way, secured a new site on the Rothlisberger farm and the school was moved about a quarter mile south to its present location."

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Pony Hollow School
~from the Clayton County Register, October 13, 1937

The first school house in the township was erected in Pony Hollow. Little is known concerning it, except that, following the dictates of custom and necessity, it was built of logs. Its first teacher was Miss Melissa Howard. It is unfortunate that a detailed description of this first school is not available, but it is intriguing to try to picture it: the chinked log walls, the rude slab benches, the serious little scholars in their homespun frocks and suits poring over the few dog-eared texts which were available.

The exact date of the building of this school is not recorded in the histories of Clayton county but it must have been erected several years prior to 1848, for on September 28 of that year the township inspector of school, A.D. Griswold, was able to issue the following well-organized report:

"Number of persons in the town of Boardman under the age of twenty-one and over five, 114. Whole number of scholars in District No. 1, organized and reported, 45. School taught three months by a man at $15.00 per month. District No. 2, organized and reported, 39. School taught three months by a woman at $1.25 per week. Avertage number of scholars taught, 14. Amount paid for schooling n the township, $60. Districts No. 3 and 4 have not reported and are not organized."

This report would argue that the school system of the township was fairly well organized and shows that another school had been established in addition to the original school at Pony Hollow. It is amusing to note the discrepancy between the wages paid the male pedagogue and those of his female colleague. Apparently the equality of the sexes on the teachers' wage scale had not been established. Absurdly low as these salaries seem, it must be remembered that in those days the teacher was not generally required to be self-supporting. He "boarded round" with the families of his district.

The little Pony Hollow school house was also the township's first religious meeting place. An itinerant preacher, Rev. Sidney Wood, would come there occasionally to exhort the few scattered settlers of the vicinity.

By 1849, District No. 3 was organized, and in October of that year Mr. Griswold was able to make a detailed statistical report of the educational situation in his township to the Hon. E. Price, the school fund commissioner of Clayton county. It revealed that the length of a term in the Boardman township schools was 154 days, that the cost of a school house was $184.00, and that the average compensation of a male teacher per month was $18.00, and that of a female teacher, $6.00 per month. The other teachers then employed were E.V. Carter, 30, of Ohio, and Miss Emeline Ames, 18, of Garnavillo.

~transcribed by S. Ferrall for Clayton Co. IAGenWeb, July 2016

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Misc. Pony Hollow school items
(in most cases it is unknown which of the Pony Hollow schools these items refer to)

1881
Report of Pony Hollow Public school, for the month ending Feb. 18, 1881.
Jennie S. McAlvin, teacher.

No enrolled during the month, 31. Average daily attendance, 26. No. perfect in attendance 11.

Names and grades of those passing the monthly examination:

~source: Elkader Register, Friday, March 4, 1881
~note: Names were clear in the article but grades were smudged & are 'best guess'
~contributed by Reid R. Johnson

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1882
Report of the Pony Hollow school, for month ending May 27, 1882
S. Jennie McAlvin, teacher

Number of days taught - 20
Average daily attendance - 23
Number enrolled - 32
Number perfect in attendance - 9

Result of monthly examination:

~source: Elkader Register, Friday morning, June 16, 1882
~contributed by S. Ferrall

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1885
The Pony Hollow school, taught by Miss Julia Downey, closed with appropriate exercises on Tuesday of last week. Miss Downey has taught this school for several terms and we learn that she has given entire satisfacton to the patrons. ~Elkader Register, Thursday, July 16, 1885

1886
Miss Jennie McAlvin, who is teaching the Pony Hollow school, was obliged to close her school on Tuesday last, on account of sickness. ~Clayton County Journal, Wednesday, May 5, 1886

1893
Maud Tyler is teaching the lower Pony Hollow school.
Maud Tyler commenced her first term as a teacher at the Pony Hollow school on Monday last.
~Elkader Argus, and The Register, April isues, 1893

1906
Frank Hill began his spring term in the lower Pony Hollow school Monday. ~Elkader Register, March 22, 1906

1918
Miss Irene Corkery is again teaching the Pony Hollow school. ~Elkader Register, September 12, 1918

1928
Everyone is invited to the Christmas program and box social in District No. I, Boardman township (upper Pony Hollow school) on Friday evening, December 21st. Ladies please bring baskets. Mabel Steen, teacher. ~Elkader Register, December 13, 1928

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