CONTRIBUTED PHOTO -The old Le Grand Public School building pictured sometime after its completion in 1871.
Editor’s note: This is the first part in a Times-Republican Education Corner series on some of the area’s rural schools. The series will look at the history and formation of the schools, as well as what challenges they face in modern times.
It’s been well over a century since the first white settlers came to what is now Marshall County. As they arrived, they got busy setting up key foundations of modern towns: roads, homes, stores, churches and schools.
In the time since, there has been an immense amount of changes to education in the state. Three rural school districts in the county – West Marshall, East Marshall and Green Mountain-Garwin – each has a unique history. History also shows some patterns shared among the districts.
Past actions, modern impacts
Each of the West Marshall, East Marshall and Green Mountain-Garwin districts has its own origin story. While unique in their own ways, there are also clear patterns that appear when it comes to the timing of mergers between and among small schools.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO -People and horse carriages pose outside the St. Anthony Consolidated School building, which opened in 1913 and closed in 1957. The building has since been destroyed.
As accounts in the book “The Continuing History of Marshall County Iowa, 1997” suggest, residents in some of the communities who lost students or entire school buildings because of consolidation were opposed to merging into larger districts.
“The small town people, like we were … thought consolidation was probably not good for us because we would lose our school,” said 34-year Marshalltown Schools teacher and current Green Mountain-Garwin substitute teacher Julie Lang. “There are pros and cons like there is in everything.”
Lang said she grew up in Van Cleve, east of Melbourne. That small town was eventually added to the Marshalltown School District and its local building closed.
Lang said Van Cleve, just like some communities in the West Marshall, East Marshall and GMG school districts, could not keep up with the educational and facilities needs required by the state for student success.
She said the first wave of consolidations in the late 1800s and early 1900s came as a result of country schools banding together. In the 1940s and beyond, she said consolidation saw schools in smaller towns lose out in favor of those in larger towns, like State Center, Le Grand and, in her case, Marshalltown.
Gary Krob of the State Library of Iowa’s State Data Center said the state’s population experienced steady growth throughout those time periods.
“Iowa’s population in general has always just had a slow and steady population increase,” he said, noting that was prior to the farm crisis in the 1980s.
He said international immigration from places like Germany and Ireland was a key to that population growth in the early- and mid-20th century like it is today. The arrival of the Baby Boomer generation also contributed to the growth of the state’s population.
Krob said looking at historical population data can sometimes be difficult because methods of collecting information were different than they are now.
West Marshall
Today, the black-and-gold of West Marshall Community School District covers State Center, where all of its education buildings are located, as well as Melbourne, Rhodes, St. Anthony, Clemons and LaMoille.
The modern district came to be in 1962 after an election was held to consolidate several independent area districts into West Marshall, according to “Continuing History.”
The first small schoolhouses appeared in the district in the 1860s in Rhodes and State Center. LaMoille followed suit in 1870. After that, a first wave of school consolidation began in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Rhodes Consolidated Schools started in 1883, combining students at several area schoolhouses. The same happened in State Center in 1909 and in LaMoille and Melbourne around 1914-15, according to “Continuing History.”
That was the way of things in western Marshall County for a few decades. Another wave of consolidation came in the post-World War II period. Minerva Consolidated School combined with State Center in 1945, and LaMoille did the same in 1955. Rhodes and State Center combined in 1961, just before the final 1962 formation of West Marshall.
The formation of the current district didn’t immediately spell the end for local school buildings in the other towns. However, as the years went on and new educational additions popped up in State Center, other towns began to lose their school buildings.
The final blows came in 1979 with the closing of the Clemons school building and in 1983 with the Melbourne school closing.
According to “Continuing History,” there was discontent among some citizens in the smaller towns around State Center when it came to consolidation.
“Rhodes’ citizens vehemently opposed the (local school) closing because they anticipated a negative effect on the town, but were unsuccessful,” it reads.
East Marshall
On the other side of the county, the purple-and-gold East Marshall Mustangs have come about much more recently. That district currently serves the communities of Le Grand, Gilman, Laurel, Quarry, Dillon, Dunbar and Ferguson.
East Marshall was formed in 1992, according to “Continuing History.” Prior to that, there were a couple of waves of consolidation.
The first school in Le Grand was established in the mid-1850s. By 1871, it was clear a bigger space was needed for the students so a two-story brick schoolhouse was built on the northeast side of town.
A three-story building was built in 1916 to accomodate even more students, but it burnt down sometime in the seven years thereafter. A replacement building was constructed and opened in 1924 and continues to serve as part of East Marshall High School.
As with West Marshall, some communities lost schools as a result of consolidation. The Dillon school closed in 1955, and the nearby Rock Valley school lasted from 1862-1954.
Ferguson initially had a two-room schoolhouse prior to consolidation with nearby schools in 1915. The last class to graduate from Ferguson was in 1960, and after that the school was for third- and fourth-grade students in the Le Grand-Dunbar-Ferguson (LDF) school district and, later, East Marshall. By the 2010s, Ferguson’s school was also closed.
There was a consolidated school in Dunbar from 1922-1958. The building continued for some time to serve fourth- to sixth-graders for the LDF district before being closed.
The towns of Laurel and Gilman continue to serve East Marshall’s elementary and middle school students, respectively. Laurel saw a new brick schoolhouse built in 1920 and in 1951 a new high school was built.
Change came for Laurel in 1963 when it consolidated with Gilman’s school and part of Jasper County’s Mariposa Township to form the South East Marshall County (SEMCO) district. That district combined with LDF for a few years until East Marshall was formed in 1992.
The first school building in Gilman lasted from the 1870s to 1908, when a fire burned it down. The next year the building was replaced and has been renovated since. It is the current East Marshall Middle School building.
Green Mountain-Garwin
The GMG School District straddles eastern Marshall County and western Tama County. Green Mountain, that small community just northeast of Marshalltown, experienced many of the same pressures as other towns across Marshall County in the 19th and 20th centuries.
According to “Continuing History,” students in the Green Mountain area went to a one-room school house a little north of the current school’s location prior to 1921.
It was in September of that year that voters decided to approve the creation of Green Mountain Independent School District. That decision followed two previous unsuccessful attempts to create the district.
In 1952 came a major decision allowing for the construction of a building to house students in grades four through six and the superintendent’s office for $120,000.
Things remained fairly stable for the small town’s school in the following decades, according to “Continuing History.” Then, in 1992, the current district of Green Mountain-Garwin was formed when the two communities’ schools merged “after much discussion.”
Nowadays, Green Mountain hosts the district’s elementary students through the sixth grade while Garwin is home to the junior/senior high school.
From one- and two-room schoolhouses on the plains in early 20th century to multi-floor and multi-building school campuses today, the rural schools of Marshall County continue to change as time goes on.
- CONTRIBUTED PHOTO –The old Le Grand Public School building pictured sometime after its completion in 1871.
- CONTRIBUTED PHOTO –People and horse carriages pose outside the St. Anthony Consolidated School building, which opened in 1913 and closed in 1957. The building has since been destroyed.
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FAQs
What is the history of Marshall County? ›
Present-day Marshall County was created by the Alabama legislature on January 9, 1836, from Cherokee land acquired in the 1835 Treaty of New Echota. The county was named in honor of John Marshall, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835.
How many high schools are in Marshall County Alabama? ›Marshall County contains 4 high schools. For personalized and effective admissions consulting,consider CollegeAdvisor.com. Get one-on-one advising on your essays, application strategy, and extracurricular profile to help you gain acceptance to your dream colleges.
How many schools are in Marshall County Mississippi? ›Overview of Marshall County School District
Marshall County School District contains 9 schools and 2,740 students. The district's minority enrollment is 60%.
Marshall County contains 15 schools and 5,758 students.
What are some historical facts about Marshall County WV? ›The county was named in honor of John Marshall, who at the time was the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. On Christmas Eve, 1852, the B&O railroad track was completed at Rosby's Rock. The railroad was the first to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Ohio River.
What is the history of the name Marshall? ›Marshall is a boy's name of French origin. It is an occupational surname that translates to “caretaker of horses” and originates from Norman French. This name also has roots in German and Ashkenazi Judaism as an Anglicization of the name “Marschall”.
What is the biggest 7A school in Alabama? ›Hoover competes in AHSAA Class 7A athletics. Hoover is the largest high school in the state of Alabama, with an enrollment of 2,770 students.
What is the #1 High School in Alabama? ›The top ranked public schools in Alabama are Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School, Crestline Elementary School and Cherokee Bend Elementary School. Overall testing rank is based on a school's combined math and reading proficiency test score ranking.
What is the number 1 public High School in Alabama? ›| School | Ranking (2022 vs 2021) | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | School | Rank (2021) |
| 1 | Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School | 1 |
| 2 | Mountain Brook High School | 2 |
| 3 | Vestavia Hills High School | 3 |
The public school in Mississippi has approximately average 500 students (2023). The public schools with the largest student enrollments are listed below (where sufficient data available). The largest public school in Mississippi (by enrollment) is Tupelo High School with 1,937 students.
What is the biggest middle school in Mississippi? ›
- The public middle school in Mississippi has approximately average 502 students (2023).
- The public middle schools with the largest student enrollments are listed below (where sufficient data available).
- The largest public middle school in Mississippi (by enrollment) is West Jones High School with 1,487 students.
The top ranked public schools in Marshall County, AL are Arab Elementary School, Arab Junior High School and Cherokee Elementary School.
How much do substitute teachers make in Marshall County Alabama? ›Subs may choose which schools and in which positions they choose to sub. For substitute teachers, the pay is now $70 for an individual with a high school diploma, $80 with a college degree and $90 for a certified teacher.
How many 1A schools are in Alabama? ›The 2022-23 and 2023-24 football alignment places the 32 largest high schools in Class 7A and 57 in Class 6A, 56 in Class 5A, 62 in Class 4A, 60 in Class 3A, 60 in Class 2A, and 62 in Class 1A.
What are some important facts about Marshall County? ›Marshall County is home to the largest conical burial mound in North America, at Moundsville. Marshall County was formed in 1835 from Ohio County by act of the Virginia Assembly. In 1852, on Christmas Eve, workers completed the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's connection to the Ohio River at Rosby's Rock in Marshall County.
What is Marshall County MS named after? ›Founded in 1836, Marshall County borders Tennessee and was named for Supreme Court justice John Marshall. The county seat is Holly Springs, and other communities include Byhalia, Potts Camp, Red Banks, and Chulahoma. Marshall County is home to the Holly Springs National Forest.
When was Marshall County established as a county? ›Madison, Jackson, DeKalb, Etowah, Blount, Cullman and Morgan Counties bound Marshall County. It was created by the Legislature, January 9, 1836.
What does the word Marshall mean in the Bible? ›The revisers follow Septuagint and Greek authority which favor "marshal" as against "scribe." The office of marshal was to help the general to maintain discipline (compare 1 Macc 5:42). (2) Tiphcar (Jeremiah 51:27), a loan-word whose meaning is clear.
What clan does Marshall belong to? ›Marshall is a sept of Clan Keith, and the current Chief of Clan Keith is Sir James William Falconer Keith of Urie, 14th Earl of Kintore, 14th Lord Keith of Inverurie and Keith Hall, 4th Viscount Stonehaven, 4th Baron Stonehaven, 5th Baronet, 6th of Ury, born on 15th April 1976.
What does Marshall mean in war? ›In modern English, a marshal is usually one of the following: an officer of the highest rank in one of the military forces. an administrative officer having duties similar to those of a sheriff.
What is the smallest big east school? ›
Providence College is the smallest member of the Big East conference.
What is the oldest high school in Alabama? ›Murphy High School History
In April, 1976 Murphy celebrated its golden anniversary as the oldest school in Alabama. Originally named Mobile High School, the name of the school was changed in 1927 to Murphy High School in honor of Mr.
Barton Academy is considered the birthplace of public education in Alabama, having been established by Alabama's first public school system in 1836.
What is the richest school district in Alabama? ›Of active districts in Alabama with at least 100 students, Mountain Brook City – located in Jefferson County – ranks as the wealthiest.
What is the most diverse high school in Alabama? ›Austin High School
#1 Most Diverse Public High Schools in Alabama.
- McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. Mobile. 1,185 students enrolled. Niche grade: A-
- Bayside Academy. Daphne. 711 students enrolled. Niche grade: A.
- UMS-Wright Preparatory School. Mobile. 1,150 students enrolled. ...
- St. Paul's Episcopal School. Mobile.
In 2022, the state's math ranking saw a similar improvement that the fourth-grade rank did with Alabama rising to 47.
What is the richest school in Mississippi? ›Of active districts in Mississippi with at least 100 students, Madison County School District – located in Madison County – ranks as the wealthiest.
Where is the biggest high school in the world? ›This is difficult to determine, since many schools do not share the exact area of their campus. However, based on the information that is available, the largest school in the world by area is the City Montessori School in the city of Lucknow, India.
What high school has the most wins? ›What is the best School District in Hattiesburg MS? ›
Petal School District
#1 Best School Districts in Mississippi.
Hattiesburg is home to the University of Southern Mississippi (founded as Mississippi Normal College, for the training of teachers) and William Carey University (formerly William Carey College).
How many schools are in Tupelo MS? ›Tupelo Public School District contains 14 schools and 7,005 students.
What is the #1 middle school in America? ›The Davidson Academy
#1 Best Public Middle Schools in America.
- Vicksburg, MS. $19.45 per hour. 12 salaries reported.
- Biloxi, MS. $18.35 per hour. 12 salaries reported.
- Indianola, MS. $18.19 per hour. 9 salaries reported.
- Jackson, MS. $13.76 per hour. 86 salaries reported.
- Heidelberg, MS. $13.21 per hour. ...
- Show more nearby cities.
History. The Minnesota legislature created the county on February 25, 1879, with territory partitioned from the southern half of Kittson County, with Warren (which was first platted that same year) as the county seat. It was named for William Rainey Marshall, who served as Minnesota governor from 1866 to 1870.
What is the history of Marshall County Kentucky? ›Marshall County, located in far western Kentucky and created in 1842, was part of Hickman County, and later it was the northern part of Calloway County. Prior to that, the land belonged to the Chickasaw Indians, and was bought as part of the Jackson Purchase.
What is the history of Marshall County Kansas? ›Marshal County, one of the most northern counties of the state, was officially organized on August 25, 1855. Founded by Frank Marshall; A. G. Woodward; John D. Wells; A. G. Barnett; and Joseph Langdon, the county was one of the original 33 counties organized by the Territorial Legislature in 1855.
What is the history of Marshall County Oklahoma? ›The county was created at statehood in 1907 from the former Pickens County of the Chickasaw Nation. It was named to honor the maiden name of the mother of George Henshaw, a member of the 1906 Oklahoma Constitutional Convention. The county and its cities are part of the Texaoma region.
What is the oldest suburb in Minnesota? ›Richfield: Minnesota's Oldest Suburb.
What is Marshall Minnesota famous for? ›
Marshall is a regional center in southwest Minnesota, and the county seat of Lyon County. It is the headquarters of the Schwan Food Company and the home of Southwest Minnesota State University.
What was the first county in Minnesota? ›The first Minnesota counties were Benton, Dakotah, Itasca, Ramsey Wabasha, and Washington established on October 27, 1849.
What were the 3 original counties of Kentucky? ›How long did Kentucky County exist? Kentucky County was established on December 31, 1776, and it ceased to exist on November 1, 1780, when it was divided into three separate counties: Lincoln, Fayette and Jefferson.
How many states have a Marshall County? ›Marshall County is the name of twelve counties in the United States: Marshall County, Alabama. Marshall County, Illinois. Marshall County, Indiana.
What is the oldest town in Kentucky? ›The City of Harrodsburg Kentucky was founded in 1774 as the first permanent settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. As Kentucky's oldest town, the city is located in the heart of the Bluegrass Region and is surrounded by rolling countryside, horse farms, historic stone fences, historic architecture and culture.
How did Marshall County in Kentucky get its name? ›On June 1, 1842 a new county was legally formed from part of Calloway County. This new county was named Marshall, in honor of Chief Justice John Marshall who had recently died.
What is the oldest town in Kansas? ›Welcome to historic Leavenworth, the oldest City in Kansas. Present day Kansas was part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
What is Marshall County? ›Marshall County is a county located in far western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,659. Its county seat is Benton.
Who was Marshall County TN named after? ›"An Act to establish the county of Marshall, in honor of John Marshall, late Chief Justice of the United States, to be composed of a part of Bedford, Maury, Giles and Lincoln." SECTION 1. J.
What is the oldest organized town in Oklahoma? ›