Presentation to Explore History of Iowa’s One-Room Schoolhouses

A presentation titled “Reclaiming Iowa’s Lost Treasure” will be held this Saturday, October 18, at the Mulberry Center Church within Wilson Brewer Park, detailing the history of the state’s extensive network of one-room schools.

Sandy Host, curator of the Iowa Rural Schools Museum, will lead the 1 p.m. presentation, sharing research and photographs documenting the 12,623 one-room schools that once served Iowa’s rural communities. Host, a Sac County native whose family has deep roots in the state’s agricultural history, attended Willow Tree School near Odebolt before it closed in 1951. “I was in second grade when it closed. It was a monumental thing to lose your school,” she said. The preservation of these schools offers a unique window into the lives of early Iowan settlers.

The presentation will cover the historical context of these schools, which were established as part of a plan to settle Iowa’s tallgrass prairie in the late 19th century, following a surge in immigration. Between 1870 and 1900, Iowa’s population doubled to 2.2 million as over a million immigrant farm settlers established homesteads and built these vital educational institutions. Host has authored five books on the subject, with proceeds supporting the Iowa Rural Schools Museum, located at Heritage Square Park in Odebolt. You can learn more about the history of rural education in the United States at the Rural School and Community Trust.

The program is free and open to the public, with donations accepted to support the Mulberry Center Church’s programs and maintenance. Organizers say the presentation aims to raise awareness about the importance of preserving Iowa’s rural heritage.