- Lima School District No. 9, Rock County, lies in all or parts of sections
14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28,
- 34, and 35 of range 14, east, Township
4, North. The greatest length is 3 miles, and its greatest width
is 2
miles; centrally located, 13 miles northeast from Janesville.
- In 1842 under the Territorial organization
the town of Milton set up the Common School District No. 9,
- they called a meeting of the inhabitants
of this district to convene at the house of Paul CRANDALL
on Dec. 8, 1842. At this meeting they appointed three trustees,
Asaph PRATT, Gardner HALL, and Henry STILLMAN.
The district clerk was Paul CRANDALL and the district
collector William P. STILLMAN.
- The town of Lima was organized, Feb.
24, 1845.being named after a township in the east. It had
- previously formed a portion of the
town of Milton.
- The first schoolhouse was built on
the farm of Ezra BROWN on the northwest corner of Sec.
26. It was
- to be 22' x 18', divided into three
rooms (two rooms 18' x 18' for classes and one entry room to
be 18' x 4', heated by a stove that would handle wood 2.5 feet
long). The district was to raise the money by tax levees for
the purpose of building this school house. The school was to
be ready by the middle of November 1844. The school was to run
four months by a male teacher.
- The Ezra BROWN farm later changed
hands to his son, Charles BROWN. In 1913 it was a part
of the
- Martin KOSHARK farm. The schoolhouse
was known as the Crandall School. In order to be centrally located and nearer
the train station it was moved to Lima Center, built about 1860
by Lyman and Augustus WOOSTER on the north side of the
road, about 1/4 mile east of the United Brethren Church, on the
rise of the ground on the Martin Fredrick GOULD farm.
It was often used for spelling matches, singing school, church
services, war
meetings and entertainments. In 1871 the basement was fitted
up to accommodate the primary department thus
forming a graded school. This building was destroyed by fire
in 1881. While a new school house was being
built, school was kept in what was known as Emerson Hall (1913).
- The present brick school house was
built on the site of the Isaiah ROBINSON house in 1881
in section
- 22 on Lima Center Road in Lima Center
(between Gould and Pioneer roads). The house formerly standing
on that lot (being moved to a lot nearly opposite the United
Brethren Church sheds) is occupied by Albert STILLMAN,
a son of Dr. Clark Green STILLMAN (later owned by John
AMES). About where the school house now stands was a well,
the water of which was drawn by a well sweep. Later, Fred B.
TRUMAN occupied the building, operating it as a blacksmith
and repair shop (in 1924, the blackboard was still in the upper
room of the shop).
- In 1887 a frame building was erected
south of the brick building to be used as a primary room. The
- school changed from graded to one room
school several times. Since 1905 it has remained a two room school.
The brick school was eventually sold and made into dwelling apartments.
- The new schoolhouse was east of the
Fred B. TRUMAN house; TRUMAN's door was only twelve
- feet from the schoolhouse door. It
was a two-room school with the lower classes on the first floor.
In 1922
electricity was added - the children of the school raised $45
to help with the cost and installation (at the same time they
added a drinking fountain).
- Memorial Day was always a special day
for the school children. The day before Memorial Day the
- children always went down the railroad
track with the school teachers and picked wild flowers, green
and
white snake grass, shooting stars, geraniums, phlox and wild
daises. We would make as many bouquets from
the flowers that we picked, and put them in a big tub of water.
On Memorial Day we held a program at the
school and we each received a bouquet and flag. After the program
we marched to Lima Center Cemetery. William TRUMAN, a
soldier in the Civil War, played the fife and would lead the
parade to the cemetery. Others
who wanted to be a part walked along also. At the cemetery, we
went to each and every soldier's grave and put a flag and a bouquet
by it.
-
- Fred added the following: I'm looking
for information on School District No. 9 Lima Township, Rock
Co. I have a photo of the class of 1914-1915 of the lower grade
children with a note saying this was the last year for the brick
schoolhouse in the back ground. This schoolhouse was built in
1881-(New school 1916 OR 1917)? I would like to know...
- ... the date the new schoolhouse
when was it built in Lima and if there were any 1916 or 1917
- ... when did School District No.
9 suspended the operation of running the school system in Lima?
- ... is there a record of school
teacher by years for District No. 9 Lima?
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