locust school

We happened up on this historic one room school house on a trip to the trout stream and it was a neat little stop !!! If you like history this is a great stop!!!

Locust School was the oldest school building in Iowa--in 1939. It was in operation until 1960 and served as a community center and church as well as a school. It is still opened each year in the spring for elementary school students and on weekends (1-4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, May through August) for other visitors. Built in 1854, Locust School is constructed of limestone blocks quarried locally. The large, one-room school has the bell tower, slate chalkboards on three walls, pictures of Washington and Lincoln, seven generations of lunch boxes, and vintage school books. There's a teacher's desk, furnished with a hand bell and writing implements and a flag, on a raised platform, along with reference books. The students' desks are on runners attached to the floor; they could be original, well-used, wooden-topped, with scrolled metal legs. In the corner is a water crock with a dipper. There are four bulletin boards with histories, pictures, and appropriate sayings, even a "Moral Code." There is a working outhouse in back; the flagpole is on the busy crossroads corner. St. John's Lutheran church is next door, beyond the swing set.