This article comprises research conducted by Sue Leslie, Myrna Griffith and Deanette Snyder.
If you take a moment to stand quietly and listen in the rolling landscape of Van Meter Township, you can almost hear the happy voices of the students at the one-room schools at recess.
Besides teachers, recess is the second-most-remembered experience of those who attended one-room schools.
Students had two recesses and a lunch hour to have fun and socialize. If there was playground equipment, it usually consisted of swings and teeter totters. The adventurous ones would “pump” themselves up on the swings as high as they could go and then “bail out,” sailing through the air to a hopefully safe landing.
Teeter totters provided another adventure. As Charlie Thompson recalled, “I was a little guy, so they would put me on one end of the teeter totter, and then two would jump on the other end, causing me to fly high into the air! Luckily, I never got hurt. “
Favorites that didn’t need equipment were “Annie, Annie, Over,” “Flying Dutchman” and “Two (or Three) Deep” as well as a modified game of baseball called “Work Up.” If the weather didn’t allow for outdoor play, indoor games such as “Drop the Handkerchief,” “Button Button—Who’s Got The Button,” “Hide The Thimble” and “I Spy” were played. Sometimes the boys might play “Mumbly Peg” with their knives
Van Meter Township has the honor of having the first settlement in Dallas County. In the fall of 1845, brothers Daniel and Lewis Stump staked out claims near the forks and north of the Raccoon River in what became to be known as “Stump Bottom.” There they built a one-story cabin 16’ x 18’. In February 1846 they were joined by their brother and sister.
Then followed Levi and James Wright, who built a one-story, two-room log house, and by 1846 a small settlement had been established.
The first school house in the township was a log cabin, located in section 15, that was built in the spring 1847 by an early settler who vacated it. School was taught by either William P. McCubin or Miss Malinda Night. There are no records of who was actually the first teacher.
According to maps, in 1875 Van Meter Township had eight schools, with schools in De Soto and Van Meter that covered all grades. Not much is recorded about the one-room schools in the township. According to the 1970 “Van Meter Centennial History,” the schools were consolidated into the Consolidated Independent District of Van Meter in August 1921. At that time, four country school buildings were moved to town at a cost of $1,275. Three were used for classrooms and one for manual training.
In the town of Van Meter, the first school building was a one-room house located on or near the road heading to the cemetery. In 1870 a two-story frame structure of two rooms was built. This building served the needs of the community for almost 25 years.
The third building was constructed of local brick in 1894 at a cost of $4,550. Renovators installed steam heat and electricity in the building in 1904 and 1915 respectively. This was one of the first schools in the county to have all motorized buses.
Soon after the second town in the township, De Soto, was established, a frame building was constructed near the park to be used as a school and a church. In 1870 the De Soto Independent School District built a two-story brick building for $5,000. It was a large structure with four rooms. The first floor was used for the primary and intermediate grades. The second floor was occupied by the high school.
An addition was added in 1882, and in 1920 consolidation annexed some of the rural county schools into the De Soto Consolidated School District. In 1922-1923 a new brick building was built, and the entire school body led by the faculty marched from the old school building to the new one. This building was used until 1961, when the district consolidated with Adel to become the Adel-DeSoto Community School District.
In an ongoing effort to preserve the history of our township schools, we are seeking details on the names and locations of the other schools in Van Meter Township. If you have any information about these schools, such as their location or stories of students who attended them, our group would like to hear from you. Please contact Myrna Griffith at wpldirector@minburncomm.net, Deanette Snyder at deanettesnyder@gmail.com or Sue Leslie at densueles@aol.com.
