District #6 and #84 - The Merkle School

 This book and its contents are in the Genealogy library. The
information and pictures in it are priceless. There is no date on the
book to give an idea of when it was written. From internal evidence in
the Teacher biographies, most of this was compiled in 1921-22.
 The country around our school used to be all prairies. Before this
school was organized some children went to the Beland School, which is
two miles east of here, and some went to the Danforth School.
 One of the first settlers around here was Mr. Chris Merkle. He lived
here a few years and then purchased the forty acres on which the
schoolhouse is located, this being in 1867. The next year, 1868, Mr.
Merkle gave a half-acre of land to the school district, which was soon
organized. Mrs. Merkle was also influential in forming the district.
 The school was opened under Miss Libbie Haden as teacher and Mr. Davis,
Mr. Webster, and Mr. Merkle, Sr. as directors.
 The schoolroom was about two thirds as large as it is now but there
were about sixty pupils enrolled while at present there is an enrollment
of twelve.