Most of the pioneers in this vicinity [of the county] were from New England stock and they welcomed the rich loam of the flat
prairies. These men and women, being accustomed to good schools, realized the need of education in their new
environment, so as soon as conditions permitted, opportunites for learning were offered.
In 1856 – 57, the first school was held in one room of the David EDWARDS residence. Mrs Isabelle GURLEY, who had
attended the Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, was the schoolmistress, with eight or ten pupils enrolled. Mrs
GURLEY’s husband had purchased property in New Hampton, but he had not yet moved to town, so she kept house in the
schoolroom. The salary paid and the qualifications for teaching are not known, but this school term lasted three months. The
following year the school was moved to a house enclosed with siding and plastered with prairie mud, on the eastern outskirts of
town.
Harrison GURLEY donated land for the first schoolhouse, which was built in the year 1857 or 1858, as a sort of combination
schoolhouse and court house, on the site where the Baptist church now stands [referring to the year 1939]. There were two
rooms, the lower one being used as a schoolroom, court room, and polling place, while the upper room ws used for public meetings
of various kinds, and from 1863 - 1865 it was used as office space for the county officials. The first teacher in this building
was the Reverend WEBSTER, who we may assume was a well educated man, but there were no required qualifications for public
school teachers at that time in Chickasaw County.
In June 1865, the New Hampton School Board, with H.M. MIXER as president, purchased from Haviland COTANT and wife for $125,
the lot on which the present building stands. In the next year, a frame schoolhouse was built, size 30 feet x 40 feet. It
contained four rooms, two in the first story and two in the second.
The independent District of New Hampton was formed by special election in the spring of 1870, and the first board meeting was held
in March of that year, at which time Don A. JACKSON was elected.
In 1881 the two story frame building burned and was replaced with a brick structure, costing $13,000, which was completed in
1882. It was built a little to the west of the present site, facing the east, contained six grade rooms, a high school assembly
and a classroom.
In 1884, the first high school graduation occurred in the New Hampton school, and while this graduation only represented the completion of a TWO YEAR course, it was a long step from the first school held in the year 1856-57.
Sometime during the three years following that first graduation, an addition was made on the building to meet the increasing enrollment, and the course of study extended to cover a FOUR YEAR PROGRAM, for in 1887, the first four year class, composed of two members, Miss Zora SHERMAN and Miss Bessie PORTER, was graduated. Miss PORTER has devoted most of her life to library work and has been city librarian for the past 39 years.
The Graduating Class of 1895 is remembered in this picture, which has been provided by Mr E.L. Larkin, noted Chickasaw County historian.
In 1910 some agitation was started in favor of a new schoolhouse to replace the one built in 1882, which with its additions, was poorly lighted, unsanitary and overcrowded. In 1913 it was decided to replace the old building with an entirely new and modern school plant. Accordingly, the older part of the building was torn down and the addition, which was put up in 1887, was moved across the street intact, and is now known [today] as the Bower’s Apartments. The new building was completed in 1914, at a cost of $65,000. The school now offered a fine educational program, including kindergarten, elementary, and a broad high school course.
SOURCES:
History of Education in Chickasaw County Iowa, by Vane A. Pattison
August 1939; synopsis of pages 94 – 100
(This material was researched and compiled by the author as part of the requirements for his Master’s Degree in Education, at the State University of Iowa.)
We thank Mr Jim Johnson for contributing this picture of New Hampton High School