The New School Year

 

By Seth McFarland

August 17, 2022 

 

It is that time of year that is met with mixed emotions for all families - the beginning of school. Schools have changed over the past 150 years of Pawnee County.

The first school was established in Larned, and on June 23, 1873. Ms. Isabel Worrell was hired to teach in the first building in Larned otherwise referred to as the Little Red House. The building had been brought from Fort Larned by members of the Larned Town Company, and had previously served as variety of functions including a saloon.

By 1874, a new larger building on Main Street was erected by the Presbyterians and Methodists. Both church groups used the building for Sunday services.

The first class to graduate from Larned high school in 1890 was completed after a three year course. This was the tradition until 1904 when Larned high school became the standard four year preparatory school.

As the population of Pawnee County grew, schools were laid out throughout the county. Country schools constructed of white wood frame, stone or brick dotted the countryside. Students ranged in age from five to 21, and came from a variety of cultures. Many immigrant families did not speak English, and the students would learn English through lessons at school.

School children traveled on foot or horseback, and often the schools had barns or hitching posts for the horses. Traveling barefoot in the snow seems like a modern exaggeration, but was a rather common experience for nineteenth century youth. They often endured Kansas weather including dust storms, prairie fires, wind and blizzards with little to no shelter on their way to and from school.

In all, Pawnee County has had over 67 schools. As the school districts incorporated, many of the schools were renamed, relocated, or dismantled entirely. By the mid 1960's, most one -room schools had become a thing of the past. Visit the Santa Fe Trail Center to view one of the surviving country schools from the nearby community of Frizell.