Country Schools of the Northwoods

The most iconic symbol of any small community on the edge of the wilderness could arguably be the Country Schoolhouse. Often these building were the pride of their community, a symbol of their commitment to their children and their future. The Northwoods was scattered with Country Schools. Almost every lumber town, mining settlement, farming community and ethnic enclave had its own school. Today some of these buildings survive but many had passed with time. Some of these places are at the location of modern schools, we encourage visitors to view outside of school hours to respect the privacy of students. When viewing all locations and sites, we encourage the public to be respectful of private property and the privacy of individuals.

These schoolhouses consisted usually of one, sometimes two rooms, they usually had a few windows to let in the sun and a fireplace or wood burning stove to heat the building in winter. Jerry Apps, in his book 'One Room Country Schools' recalls his time attending a one room schoolhouse. He didn't attend or write about schools specific to the Northwoods but his description still fits, "Country schools illicit memories of fall days waiting for the first snow, of winter days and longing for spring, of spring days anticipating summer vacation. There are memories of long division and the embarrassment of standing at the blackboard with chalk in hand, not knowing what to do with the numbers scrawled in front of you. Memories of the frigid days of winter when everyone gathered around the mammoth wood stove, with the appetite creating smells of homemade soup warming in a pan blending with the pungent smell of drying mittens. There are memories of teachers, dedicated servants who received scant pay for their work which included building fires, tending to cuts and scrapes, planning programs for the entire community and teaching all eight grades in one room, without electricity, indoor plumbing, or central heating."

By todays standards, the behavior and lifestyle expected of teachers seems irrational. The Rules for The Teacher in 1915, as complied by the Polk County Historical Society are as follows;

"You will not marry during the term of your contract.

You are not to keep company with men.

You must be home between 8pm and 6am unless attending a school function.

You may not loiter downtown in any icecream stores.

You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have permission of the chairman of the board.

You may not smoke cigarettes. You may not under any circumstances dye your hair.

You may not dress in bright colors.

You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he be your father or brother.

You must wear at least two petticoats.

Your dress may not be shorter than 2 inches above the ankles.

To keep the school neat and clean, you must: sweep the floor at least once daily; scrub the floor at least once a week with hot, soapy water; clean the blackboards at least once a day; and start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m."

Many school boards however did not always enforce such a strict behavior code on their teachers and hired whoever they could to do the job. Sometimes instead of building a new structure, communities would use existing ones or private home instead or until a proper schoolhouse could be built.

Many of those that attended attest to the quality of their education. The era of one room schools came to an end in the 1960s. Apps in his book, "One Room Country Schools" quotes Ben Logan, "We didn't know it at the time, but we just may have been participants in the best educational system ever devised. In that rich varied one-room community there was no artificial separation of children into good and bad, smart and dumb, young and old. We were all in it together. Subjects and years weren't tied into neat bundles. They were overlapped. so that there was only one subject: education."

Apps, Jerry. One-Room Country Schools History and Recollections from Wisconsin. Edition 1st. Amherst, Wi. Amherst Press a division of Palmer Publications. Inc, 1996.