This article comprises research conducted by Sue Leslie, Myrna Griffith and Deanette Snyder.
For a long time, Adams Township was part of Adel, Van Meter and ‘Coon townships until its present form was drawn on Jan. 4, 1869. It has not changed since.
The township was named after Stephen Adams, one of the citizens who was part of a group which was influential in separating from the other townships.
The first attempts at building a school proved to be failures. The citizens would meet to agree upon a plan, and promises were made to supply the materials needed. Some promises were promptly kept, while others weren’t, so they remained without a school.
Finally, in 1853 the first school was built. It was a frame house 16′ x 18’ and situated on the southeast quarter of section 11. The contract for building the school was made with the understanding that as property values increased, a tax would be levied to pay the debt. However, for some it was a great distance to travel to school, so the people did not pay the tax.
It was then proposed that if the distance was such an inconvenience, then a new school would be built in this area. The people would pay their share of the tax in advance, which would be used to pay for the first school. Each would hold a promissory note until the district was able to raise enough dollars to build the school nearby, and those attending the school would be taxed.
The new school was built by J. W. Garoutte and was used until 1859, when another one was built. The old one was moved and used as a home. It is thought that Samuel J. Garoutte taught in this first school during the winter of 1854-1855. Miss Mary Holt succeeded him in the next term.
By 1879 there were 10 one-room schools in Adams Township.
There are no towns or communities in Adams Township, so these rural school students went to Adel, Redfield, Dexter or De Soto for high school.
Louise Hartman grew up on a farm in section 18 of Adams Township, where the 1875 plat map shows a schoolhouse was located. She stated that the schoolhouse “was long gone by the time we moved to the farm. However, my mother had grown up in the neighborhood, so my parents knew some verbal history of the schoolhouse. Sadly, little information has been retained. All we kids knew was that there were limestone rocks remaining from the foundation of the old school. There also remained a metal part of a desk—the kind that had a hinge in front for the seat of the desk. Unfortunately, this has since been tossed.”
These memories of bits and pieces of these old buildings are all too common. As the schools closed, they either went back to the farmer whose land they sat on or were sold and moved. Many were destroyed and the land put back into production. Some became garages or tool sheds, but several became homes that are still being used today.
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 Adams 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.
