Lincoln County Kansas
EDUCATION & SCHOOLS

From its stormy beginnings to the present day, education has been a primary concern of the people of Kansas. Consistently Kansas children rank within the top ten states on educational levels of achievement and Kansans are among the most educated people in the United States.

Education in Lincoln County developed from the efforts of individual pioneer families to educate their children into rural one-room schools that grew into area school districts which were eventually consolidated into regional districts sometimes crossing county boundaries centered around larger towns. Through it all the people of Lincoln County have strived to provide the best education possible for their children.

The first session of school in Lincoln County likely was held in Martin Hendrickson's dugout near Rocky Hill in 1869. This was a subscription school, costing each child $3 a month for the three-month term. At one time there were more than 80 school districts in the county, and Lincoln also was the site of Kansas Christian College, which was in operation from 1885 to 1913. Over time, smaller schools unified or closed, and a major reunification led to two school districts, Lincoln and Sylvan, beginning in the 1966-67 school year.

We hope to provide researchers here with information on the history of education in Lincoln County. Student lists, school district names, county teacher's institutes, Kansas Christian College... all are a part of the history of education in Lincoln County and we hope to offer information on these and other topics for you. If you have information on education in Lincoln County that you'd like to donate to this page please feel free to contact us.

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LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL
A list of graduates of Lincoln High School, 1891-2013

EDUCATION IN SYLVAN GROVE
A look at the beginning of the schools in Sylvan Grove, from "Honoring Our Heritage," and A look at the history of Sylvan Grove High School, from "Honoring Our Heritage," by Marge Lawson

SYLVAN GROVE HIGH SCHOOL, 1902-2013
A list of graduates of Sylvan Grove High School, 1902-2013 (Not including 2004 or 2012; if anyone has a list of 2004 or 2012 graduates, please contact the site coordinators at the email address on the home page.)

NORMAL SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, 1890
A list of students enrolled in the Normal School, listed by post office address

NORMAL SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, 1894
A list of students enrolled in the Normal School, listed by post office address

NORMAL SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, 1900
A list of students enrolled in the Normal School, listed by post office address

**LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS
A list of former and current school districts in Lincoln County

HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN LINCOLN COUNTY, 1870-1892
Taken from the book, Columbian History of Education in Kansas (1892)

HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN LINCOLN COUNTY, 1870-1908
Taken from the book, Souvenir History of Lincoln County, Kansas (1908)

BEVERLY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1
A list of teachers, administrators and students in the 1906-07 school year

BEVERLY HIGH SCHOOL OPENS
Article from 1921 about the dedication of Beverly High School.

HISTORY OF BEVERLY RURAL HIGH SCHOOL
A description of how the school was organized and its teachers and administrators, written in 1932

LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR CHRONICLES, 1908
Includes lists of all the classes at the high school as well as the 8th graders who might be attending the next school year

LINCOLN GRADE SCHOOL
A list of fourth graders in 1910

44TH EDITION OF THE SCHOOL DIRECTORY
For Lincoln County in the 1936-37 school year

COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS, 1896-1966
List of those who served as County Superintendent of Public Instruction before consolidation in 1966

SUNNYSIDE SCHOOL
An article telling a brief history of one of the county's country schools

KANSAS STATE COLLEGE STUDENTS LISTS
Lists of students at Kansas State College (Manhattan) in 1932-33 and 1940-41

LINCOLN COUNTY TEACHERS IN 1894
A list of teachers, districts and salaries for 1894

LINCOLN COUNTY TEACHERS IN 1895
A list of teachers, districts and salaries for 1895

LINCOLN COUNTY TEACHERS IN 1896
A list of teachers, districts and salaries for 1896

LINCOLN EDUCATION IN 1913
Part of a series of articles on Lincoln in 1913; includes brief histories of the Lincoln schools

NEW HIGH SCHOOL DEDICATED
A story about the dedication of the new high school building in Lincoln in 1922

HISTORY OF ROCKY HILL SCHOOL
An article from 1930 about the formation and history of the Rocky Hill School, including a list of teachers.

FOUR RURAL SCHOOLS CLOSE
Brief item from 1930 about the closing of four rural schools: Topsy, Table Rock, Amsterdam and Donley

C.C. HENDRICKSON RECALLS COUNTY'S FIRST SCHOOL
In a 1939 article, the first teacher, students and school in the county are remembered.

OLD CENTRAL SCHOOL IS RAZED
The Central School, built in 1886-87, was razed in 1950. This article gives some background on the early school.

CENTRAL SCHOOL GIVES WAY TO MODERN STRUCTURE
In another 1950 article, the new building to replace the Central School -- the current grade school in Lincoln -- is described.

REMINISCENCES OF THE GRADE SCHOOL
June P. Bryan Henderson tells of the first years in the new grade school in Lincoln.

SHILOH SCHOOL CLOSES
A brief article from 1960 telling of the closing of the Shiloh school District, No. 41.

HISTORY OF GARFIELD SCHOOL
A brief article from 1970 about the history of Garfield School District, No. 68.

EARLY DAY SCHOOLS
From 1970, an article by Annette Helus on early education in Lincoln County.

SPRING VALLEY SCHOOL 1918-19
A list of students and teacher from that term.

SUNNYSIDE REUNION
In 1978 students and teachers from Sunnyside School held a reunion.

RECALLS DAYS AT TOPSY SCHOOL
Carrie McFarland Hendrickson remembers her education at Topsy School.

TEACHER FALLS DOWN A WELL
Stella Conner fell down a well while walking to Liberty school, got herself out and taught her classes.

HISTORY OF LOST CREEK SCHOOL
As told by Alfred Strange in 1910.

MARGARET ONE OF ONLY TWO ONE-TEACHER SCHOOLS BY 1965
Article gives a history of the school and a look at what the curriculum was like.

HISTORY OF MONROE SCHOOL, ORGANIZED IN 1873
Monroe, near Beverly, was the second district recognized in Lincoln County.

SURPRISE SCHOOL TURNS 100
Stone building still standing on Gabelmann farm in 1985.

SCHOOL NAMED FOR FORMER LINCOLN TEACHER
Garden City names a school for former Lincoln teacher Bernadine Sitts (1938-48).

RURAL SCHOOL GRADUATES FROM 1944
We have full lists for Lincoln and Sylvan Grove, but rural school grads are harder to find.

Barnard School

Also known as the Old North School.

Cedron School
The Cedron schoolhouse is still standing (at least three walls of it) and is being restored by the current landowner (photo courtesy David Veh).

Ash Grove School
This schoolhouse stood just south of the Ash Grove Methodist Church (photo courtesy David Veh).

Ash Grove School -- Now
The Ash Grove schoolhouse still stands. This view is from the west; I believe the photo above was taken on the east side of the school. You can see the similarity in the five closely set windows. (Photo taken May 2006)

Mount Pleasant School
Eugene Miller, the teacher in 1909, gave his students this program as a gift. It features his photo pasted on the front and a class roster inside. The entire booklet is here -- page 2, page 3, which includes a list of students, and the rest of the booklet, whose illustrations are very typical of the time and quite nice -- page 4, page 5, page 6 and the back cover. Mount Pleasant was in Pleasant Township, south of Sylvan Grove. The booklet was found in an antique store in Washington state and has been donated to the Lincoln County Historical Society.

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