Benton's first schoolhouse was built in 1893. Dr. TURNER was the first teacher. The school held classes up to the eighth grade.

Miss Etta RAINS, the daughter of Asa RAINS, was the schoolteacher from 1898 to 1899. She was paid a salary of $25.00 per month. The average cost of tuition was 96-cents per pupil per month.

During the second decade of the 1900's, several school districts in Ringgold County considered consolidation. Although the citizens of Redding School District voted in favor of consolidation in 1913, the vote was cast out on a technicality. The following year, a new school was erected in Redding. In 1915, another election was held in Redding and the citizens again voted to consolidate. In 1917, a large addition was constructed to accomondate an increase in pupils attending the Redding School. In 1915, the residents of Delphos voted to consolidate; Maloy residents voted for consolidation in 1917; and the Beconsfield residents cast their vote for consolidation in 1920. Although the residents of Ellston voted to consolidate, it was annulled on a technicality when the bonding company realized that the election notice had been advertised solely by public notices and not published in the newspaper. A second vote was called which resulted in a vote against consolidation.

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Friday, May 26, 1916

The cut shown herewith is a perspective view of the Benton public school building to be erected at Benton, in case the bond election to be voted on June 2d, is successful.

The board of education spent considerable time and effort investigating various school buildings, and after due consideration decided to employ Trunk & Gordon, architects, of St. Joseph, Mo., who, co-opearting with the board, worked out the general arrangement, size and requirements of the building, which will fulfill the requriements of the district for years to come.

The building, which will be practically three stories in height, will have general dimensions of 40 feet in width and 75 feet in length, with a projecting wing in front 12 feet x 30 feet, in which is provided the stairways, toilet rooms, superintendent's office, etc.

The win in rear provides for stage, dressing rooms, boiler and fuel room. The main entrance to teh building in front opens to a stair landing which leads up to the first floor and down to the basement or ground floor.

On this floor is provided a gymnasium-auditorium 27x50 feet with a 14-foot ceiling and in addition has a balcony ten feet in width, the full length of the auditorium. This room is further provided with stage and dressing rooms.

Show bath rooms are also provided for both boys and girls.

At the right of the entrance are the domestic science and manual traning rooms, all of which are thoroughly well lighted.

The boiler room is in the rear, accessible both from the gymnasium and from the outside.

Large space for storage of fuel is provided under the stage.

The first floor which is reached from broad well-lighted stairways to corridor and has three regulation class rooms with cloak rooms and book cases, and opening to either side of main corridor on this floor is also provided toilet room each for the boys and girls.

The second floor will contain a regulation class room, a large study hall for the high school, a recitation room and laboratory, office for superintendent and cloak room. All class rooms are thoroughly lighted from one side of the room only.

The building will be constructed of best material throughout. The corridors and stairs and partitions around same being fireproof, while the balance will be of wood floor joist construction.

The interior will have sanitary metal door frames and particular care will be exercised in the finishing of the building to eliminate all unnecessary wood trim and finish in order to reduce up-keep expense and make the appearance neat and sanitary.

The exterior will be faced with a good bitrified brick and cut stone and will have a flat type composition roof.

Sanitary ventilated plumbing fixtures will be provided and a gasoline pumping outfit to take water supply from well will be used to furnish the water for toilet fixtures and sanitary drinking fountains on each floor.

The building will be heated by a vapor steam heating system and ventilated with gravity ventilation whereby a continuous supply of fresh air fromthe autside (sic) will enter each room and the vituated air will be removed by means of ducts terminating in ventilators above the roof.

The building will also be wired in conduit for the future installation of electric light fixtures.

Public notice is hereby given, that a special election of the Independent school district of Benton, in the county of Ringgold, state of Iowa, will be held on the 2nd day of June, 1916, at the council room in the town of Benton, within said independent school district, from one o'clock p.m. until seven o'clock p.m. and that at said election there will be submitted to the voters of said independent school district, to be by them voted upon, the following proposition:

     Shall the Independent School District of Benton, in the county of Ringgold, state of Iowa, issue bonds in the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for the purpose of constructing and equipping a school house?

At which time and place all the voters of said Independent School District are hereby notified to appear.

This notice is given by order of the Board of Directors of said Independent school district in pursuant to a sufficent petition with the requisite signatures in accordance with sections 2820-d 1 et deq. of the Supplement to the Code of Iowa, 1913.

Dated at Benton, Iowa, this 3rd day of May, 1916.

F-20-4t

Notice is hereby given that sealed proposals for the erection of a high school building for the independent school district of Benton in the county of Ringgold, state of Iowa, will be received by the undersigned at his office in Benton (where plans and specifictions may be seen after June 5th, 1916; also, at the office of the architects, Trunk & Gordon, St. Joseph, Mo.) until June 16th, 1916, two o'clock p.m. at which time bids will be opened and the contract awarded to the lowest responsible bidder according to the terms and conditions of the plans and specifications.

The board reserves the right to reject any and all bids, or accept any bid.

All applications for plans and specifications must be accompanied by a certified check for $15.00 for general construction and $10.00 for plumbing and heating.

Applicants for plans and specifications must also furnish references as to responsibility, etc., and must state length of time plans are required.

To have the use of plans for one week:

Deposits will be returned in full if contractor returns plans and specificiation in good condition within seven days after leaving office; otherwise [remainder of notice clipped off].

Submission by Mike Avitt, May of 2012

Seeing a need for a high school, the people of Benton voted to incorporate into a consolidated school district. A new board of education was elected with S. S. HALL, president, George BARTELS, treasurer, W. S. MONGER, secretary, and board members W. T. HALEY, C. D. NICKLES, Frank RYCHNOSKY, and D. A. VAUGHN.

The new school was built in 1916 by the firm of Wagonut and Walter out of St. Joseph, Missouri. Mr. FARMER was the first superintendent of the new school.

The first class members were Zetha (GERMAN) BAILEY, Beatrice (LANDIS) LUYBEN, Earl MICHAEL, Ester (WALLACE) DIXON, Madge (WALLACE) DIXON, and Dr. Lewis RYCHNOVSKY.

236 students graduated from Benton High School from 1919 to 1958.

Benton High School's last graduating class members in 1958 were Anna WILSON, Daisey WILSON, Mary Ann HERRINGTON, Shirley GRAHAM, and Larry BLUNCK.

Due to a declining population and financial problems, Benton High School was closed. High School students attended classes at Mount Ayr. The Fifth and Sixth grades attended classes at Benton.

Later, the school building was condemned as unsafe. The community decided to bulldoze the building and bury it in 1982.

Mount Ayr Record News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, March 13, 2014

Thanks to the folks at the Waubonsie Center in Benton for this week's photo. I scanned this picture from the 1949 Benton yearbook, and there's agood reason why it was such a sharp scan. The picture in the yearbook is an actual black and white photograph glued to the page. I don't know that I've ever seen that before.

In the photograp are superintendent FOGLE (coach), Oveda HALL, Charlotte MAIN, Alice BOWEN, Louise GROVES, Jean DILLENBURG, Mildred BOWEN and chaperone Floy WATTS. In the front row are Delores SCHLAPIA, Shirley MAIN, Virginia BLUNCK (mascot), Marilyn WATTS and Clara Belle SCHLAPIA.

The girls had a great season leading up to the Ringgold County Tournament of 1949. The first round saw the Benton girls crush Kellerton 40-15. The Redding girls, who eventually finished third, put up a strong effort but lost to Benton 39-37 in the second round. The championship game was played January 22 against Beaconsfield on the Beaconsfield court. Beaconsfield's Betty Lu JOHNSTON scored 26 points, but Benton overcame that effort for a 40-34 victory and the Ringgold County Championship. Oveda HALL was the top scorer for Benton at 24 tallies.

The sectional tournament was played at Afton, and an early-round game saw a low-scoring affair between Benton and Orient. The score at the half was Benton 10 and Orient 8. Benton's defense held up for a 25-16 win. The championship game was played February 5, 1949 and was as close as a game can get. Shannon City was Benton's opponent, and this game would be tied on 19 occasions. In the closing seconds of regulation play, Oveda HALL scored a basket to send the game into overtime at 40-40. Miss HALL again tied the score with a free throw in the final 30 seconds of the first overtime. The score was 43-43 heading into the second overtime. By this time, Shannon City's starting guards had fouled out, and Mildred BOWEN made the winning basket for a 45-43 Benton victory and the sectional championship. Oveda HALL led the scoring with 25 points.

The Benton girls advanced to the district tournament at Shenandoah but lost in the first round in a very close game. Remember, this was six-on-six basketball and some girls played their entire high school years without scoring once.

Thanks to Louise (GROVES) FROST for loaning me some newpaper articles on this topic. ~ Mike Avitt

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, December 15, 1955

Fans will be assured of a real treat when they witness the Beaconsfield and Arispe girls basketball teams in competition Wednesday evening, Jan. 4, on the local floor. The two teams, regarded as tops in southern Iowa, are undefeated to date -- the Arispe girls having won 14 games and the Beacon quintet chalking up 13 victories.

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, March 27, 1958

The Benton junior high girls won the county junior high basketball tournament, played March 8, 10 and 12 at Ellston, by defeating Ellston, 46 to 30.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

The first Ringgold County Boys' Basketball Tournament was held February 28 - March 1st, 1919, at the Mount Ayr high school gymnasium. In 1929, Benton lost the championship to Maloy, 22-12. Benton was awarded second place with a silver basketball trophy.

Benton's CROSS was selected to the all-tournament first team during the 1939 county tournament.

Benton nearly upset the favored Maloy team during the first round of the 1940 county tournament. However, Maloy rallied and won in overtime play, 40-28. Maloy went on to claim the championship over Mount Ayr, 32-26.

During the 1950 Ringgold County Tournament, Benton's Bob SMITH scored 28 points in a second round game played against Ellston.

The Benton Bullets entered the 1952 county tournament as the favorites with a record of 16-1 under the leadership of Coach Clayton MEYER. However they lost the first round. At the sectional tournament, Benton defeated Blockton 64-34, won over Clearfield, 35-21, and won the title over Redding, 30-25. The 1952 Benton Bullets included Tom GROVES, Delbert ADAMS, Melvin CAMPBELL, Jimmie HERRINGTON, Doyle ADAMS, Robert BLUNCK, Bobbie SMITH, Ronny SMITH, Marvin CAMPBELL, and Kenneth ANDREWS.

Benton lost the 1953 county championship to Mount Ayr, 93-46. Benton's Tom GROVES was the tournament's leading scorer.

Benton was the only team that never won a county championship despite the fact that they did have great teams. Benton High School did place 2nd two times.

Benton's School Bus Barn, 1930's

Mount Ayr Record News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, May 10, 2012

Snapshots of History

By Mike Avitt

Photo of the Benton High School building taken from Benton's 1951-1952 yearbook, The Bentonian

Thanks to the good folks at the Waubonsie Center in Benton for the picture of the Benton High School. They have nearly every edition of The Bentonian from the 1940s and 1950s. Thanks, also, to Kelly Richards for loaning me a May 26, 1916 issue of the Mount Ayr Record-News which contains an article on the proposed new school building at Benton.

Plans for the new school called for two stories on a half-submerged basement. The building was to be 40 feet wide and 75 feet in length with a wing in front measuring 12 feet by 30 feet. The gymnasium/auditorium would be 27 by 50 feet with a ceiling 14 feet high. Shower bathrooms would complete the gymnasium.

A gasoline-powered pump would provide well water for the toilets, showers and drinking fountains.

Benton did not have electricity in 1916 but the school came equipped with electrical conduits for the future installation of electric light fixtures. The new building would be heated with steam, having a boiler room in the basement.

A bond election held June 2, 1916 resulted in the construction of the proposed school. The Benton Centennial Book says the last graduating class, that being in 1958, consisted of Anna WILSON, Daisey WILSON, Mary Ann HERRINGTON, Shirley GRAHAM, and Larry BLUNCK.

I was working for Larry SICKELS in 1982 when we tore the building down. Larry ran a thick, steel cable through the windows and doors and pulled the school down with his bulldozer.

After the building came down, Rich LILIENTHAL salvaged the steel beams with a cutting torch.

I don't recall that I did very much. I'm sure Larry can back me up on that.

SOURCES:
Mount Ayr Record-News, Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa, February 10, 2007

Ringgold County History Compiled and written by the Iowa Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Iowa, Sponsored by Ringgold County Superintendent of Schools, Mount Ayr, Iowa. 1942.

AVITT, Mike. Pages and Pictures from the Past. . .Ringgold County, Iowa 1855-2005 Pp. 60-. Paragon Publications, Inc. Mount Ayr. 2009.

Benton Centennial book

Compilation by Sharon R. Becker, June of 2009; updated May of 2010; updated Ma