Guthrie Co. IAGenWeb

Schools

The first school in Guthrie County was taught by Spencer Catlin in his own residence, a log cabin in the old Kunkle neighborhood in Jackson township in 1852. He had fifteen pupils. In the subsequent years there has been great development of educational interests, not only in Guthrie county, but throughout the entire west. The first public school in Cass township and the first in the county was opened in December, 1853, at Panora. Dr. Sloan teacher. It was taught in a small frame building built by Richard Gilbert. In 1859 there were 4 district townships in the county, namely Jackson, Dodge, Cass and Bear Grove. The first settler located in Jackson in 1849. The Bays located in Cass in the fall of that year. Nathan Davis settled in Bear Grove in the fall of 1852. The first school was taught in Bear Grove at the house of S.R. Saxton in 1855. John Clark made settlement in Dodge in 1854. The first school, it is said was taught by Joseph D. Nichols, brother of Colonel S.D. Nichols, in 1858, in a building yet standing and owned by W.S. Mount, in Dodge.

In 1906 there were 134 subdistricts of which had nine: Baker, Bear Grove, Beaver, Orange, Richland, Seeley, Thompson, Union, Valley, Victory. These townships had eight: Dodge. Highland, Jackson, and Cass eleven. All of these schools are ungraded, with the exception of Richland, College Corners, Long Branch, Pioner, Penn, Deager and West Milton; each has one ungraded school, Richland has one graded school.