Four Rural Schools Close

Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, April 24, 1930

Discontinue Four Schools

Four rural schools in Lincoln County will be discontinued next year, according to Mrs. C. Ethel Miller, county superintendent, as there will be no children in the districts to attend. In one district the parents have signified their intention to drive to Lincoln with their children while in another, all of the children are entered in the Parochial school. The schools to be discontinued as Table Rock, No. 73; Amsterdam, No. 85; Donley, No. 9; and Topsy, No. 18.

Old Central School Built in 1886-1887
Is Now Being Razed

Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, May 4, 1950

This week marks the passing of another landmark in the City of Lincoln, the old Central school which has stood two blocks east [sic; it was south] of the main intersection for the past 63 years. Through its doors have passed an uncounted number of boys and girls. Educated in the Lincoln schools some have remained in this locality and have lived to see their grandchildren going to school in the building where they were once children.

Final sessions at old Central were held Friday. Monday morning, the last of the furnishings were moved out and for the remaining three weeks of the 1949-1950 school year, the grade school children will attend classes in the North building which has been vacant for a number of years. The furnace, used in the Central building in recent years, had been "borrowed" from the North school and before transfer of the pupils could be accomplished the furnace was returned to the North building.

No ceremonies marked the closing of the Central school. Tuesday, workmen of the Johnson Brothers Construction Company of Salina began the work of razing the building which is soon to be replaced by a new $325,000 grade school and auditorium on the Central school site.

The building now being torn down was built in 1886-1887 at a cost of $14,500 with James Little the contractor. Old timers recall that Mr. Little mortgaged his farm in Madison township to give bond to the district, lost money on the building of the school and thereby lost his farm.

Old Central replaced the community's first real school building, a two story, two room stone structure build on the site in 1873. This first building was believed inadequate and in May 1886 a petition was circulated to vote $18,000 in bonds to construct a new building. At that time there were 300 pupils in the grade and high school and J.H. Ware was the superintendent.

Alhtough no record can be found, the bonds must have carried, and construction of the school was started late in the year 1886. By February 1887, according to an issue of The Lincoln Beacon in possesion of Herman F. Knoch, the building was nearly completed, all but the plastering and seating. The Beacon described it as follows: "Our city school house, made of rock from the quarries north of Lincoln, at a cost of $14,500. This is a three story building, including the basement, and has 10 school rooms, also coal and furnace rooms and cloak room, all under one roof. It will be heated by furnaces in the basement. It is the most ingeniously arranged school building with reference to economy of space, material and money."

The population of Lincoln when the school was first used in 1887 was 1,764. May 26, 1887, the closing exercises of the nine month session of the Lincoln public schools were conducted in the fine new school building which the schools had occupied the last nine days of the term.

In September 1887, the first full term of school was started at old Central. There were 275 pupils in high school and grammar. Mr. Ware was again superintendent and Mr. Truman was high school principal. According to the early day Beacon, the teachers were Miss Eunice Moss, Miss Nanny Smith, Mrs. L.P. Moss and Miss Mollie Medcraft.

Miss Moss and Miss Smith (now Mrs. F.A. McFarland and still living in Lincoln) had charge of the 1st and 2nd intermediate departments. The late Mrs. L.P. Moss, mother of George E. Moss of Lincoln, taught the 2nd primary department and the late Miss Medcraft, sister of Miss Emily Medcraft of Lincoln, taught the first primary.

Teachers in the building who brought the Central building's school days to a close were John Bainton, Principal; Mrs. Murle M. Hayden, first grade; Mrs. R.L. Atwood, second grade; Mrs. Paul Kopper, third grade; Miss Minnie Metz, fourth grade; Miss Evelyn Novak, first grade; Miss Hazel McKinney, sixth grade. Enrollment was 203 for the six grades.

Lincoln Central School Gives Way To Modern Structure

Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, May 25, 1950

The month of May marked the passing of another Lincoln landmark, old Central school, built in 1886-87, and occupied for 63 years by the boys and girls of school district 6.

Saturday of last week, the final stone of the building came to the ground and initial preparations were made to begin construction of the new grade school structure. �

Johnson Brothers Construction company of Salina will be builders of the new school, designed by Salina architects Charles W. and John A. Shaver. Holm Plumbing and Heating company, and the General Air Conditioning and Electrical company, also Salina firms, will put in the plumbing, heating and wiring.

Featuring an auditorium which will seat 2000 persons for stage performances and 1,200 for basketball games, the new building was designed to serve community activities as well as to serve its primary funciton as an educational plant.

The main entrance ot the building will bisect and separate the two main classrom wings, permitting separation of the lower grades and upper grades. All classrooms are square, approximately 29�x29� in size, this shape considered the most desirable for ease of hearing, seeing, flexibility of seating arrangements and for teacher supervision.

Full employement of natural day lighting to the classrooms will be effected. The window arrangements in the new building is a combination system of windows and glass block�.

All the native stone from Old Central was given away when the building was razed and none of it will go into the new grade building. There was a ready demand for the old stone and trucks from nearly every part of the county stood in line last week to haul away the rocks as fast as they were topped from the wall. Farmers and townspeople getting the stone said they would use it in the repair and construction of buildings, for building retaining walls, and for many other purposes.

Shiloh School Closes

Lincoln Sentinel-Republican, 12 May 1960

To Discontinue Shiloh School

At a special meeting of residents of the Shiloh School District, No. 41, held last week, it was voted to discontinue the school.
There were 11 pupils enrolled this past year. No mention was made of consolidation and parents of the children may enroll them wherever they choose next September. Mrs. Mona Mae Brubaker of Lucas was the teacher at Shiloh this year.