A look at one-room schools in Walnut Township, Dallas County

Sue Leslie and Myrna Griffith
| Special to Dallas County News and Perry Chief

Today, most Dallas County schools offer English language learning to their students. The Schuler Mine Camp School was ahead of its time when it opened in 1926. Built to educate the children of miners, it offered football and basketball classes from first through sixth grade. In February 1928, evening classes began for immigrant employees who were becoming citizens, some attending school for the first time. Lena Pedretti Angaran, a resident of the camp, helped the students learn English. This school existed until 1949, when the mine was closed because it became too expensive to bring the coal to the surface from three or four miles down.

Most township schools in Dallas County were identified by number, although some were given names because of their surroundings or the name of the owners of the land on which they sat. Walnut Township schools were all identified only by name. Maple Ridge School, Prairie Home School, Pleasant Plain School, Walnut Center School, Fairview School, Valley Grove School, Pleasant View School, Floral Valley School and Shuler Mine Camp were scattered throughout the township. These schools had independent school boards of three or four members for each school who reported to the county superintendent.

By the 1990s, Waukee was recognized as the fastest growing school district in Iowa, but that growth began as early as 1870, when the Presbyterian Church became the community’s first school. He held this position for a total of three years. Then, according to “Images of America: Waukee by the Waukee Historical Society,”

“In 1874, the first school was erected. It was a four-room, two-story building capable of accommodating 9 classes. The average attendance was 85 students. In 1901, a larger, brick school of four rooms, was built. This school was divided into four sections – primary, intermediate, grammar and high school which included two levels.

On July 19, 1917, a petition was signed to form the Waukee Consolidated School District. Walnut Center, Pleasant View, Floral Valley and Waukee Independent School, all located in Walnut Township, were merged into this district. In 1918, a large three-story brick structure, now called the Vince Meyer Learning Center, opened. The current Waukee Community School District was established and remained a small rural school until the 1980s.”

In an ongoing effort to preserve the history of our township schools, we are seeking details on the names and locations of other Walnut Township schools. If you have any information about these schools, such as their locations or the stories of the students who attended them, our group would like to hear from you. Please contact Myrna Griffith at [email protected], Deanette Snyder at [email protected] or Sue Leslie at [email protected].