History of
the School
Motor/Codell,
KS
1915
Vol. I
Published by
The Junior
Class of Codell High School
Vernon
Overholser, Mgr.; Aura Adams & Bessie Powell; Editors-in-Chiefs
Press of The
Ford Printery, Plainville, Kansas
Along Paradise Creek in the early
seventies, in the neighborhood and vicinity of what was later known as Motor,
came the first settlers from the eastern states to procure homes and make a
livelihood for themselves and families.
On account of shelter and fuel the settlement was all or nearly all on
the creek. The post office was
Floreyville located about midway between Codell and Natoma. Some few years later in the years of 1877
and 1878 the country had quite a boom and settlers came thick and fast,
settling up the surrounding prairie country.
By this time there was seen in the community the need of school, but the
question of paying the teacher was the one problemcash being a very scarce
article. In attempting to give a short
write up of the history of what is now the Codell school we will for
convenience divide into epochs as to time and place of holding school.
First
Epoch, or Subscription School
Not having any school organization
yet and seeing the great need of school facilities some of the more interested
ones of the district circulated subscriptions and secured enough funds to have
school for three months. There were two
short terms taught by subscription in what was known at that time as the Perry
House, just east and south of Codell, now owned by S R Tucker. This first term of school was taught by Mrs.
Mary Netherland (now Mrs. WH Johnson), and the second term by Mattie Skirvin
for which they received the sum of $12 per month as salary.
The following names of the pupils of
the first school: Aaron Roberts, Ella Roberts, Alice Roberts, John Darland,
Libbie Chase, Sallie Moore, Arthur Sever, George Johnson, Oscar Florey, Lessie
Johnson, Maud Woodruff, Kate Woodruff, Bert Woodruff, George Drake, Rose Drake,
Reanie Drake, Agnes Sever, Eddie Chase, Amos Bromley, Herrick Bromley, Frank
Watkins, Mina Watkins, Harry Netherland.
In 1879 there was organized District No
11, known as the Motor School, with the following officers elected: Antone
Sever, director; S B Linn, treasurer; D L Watkins, clerk. Having outgrown the size for accommodations
at the Perry House, which was a log structure, bonds were voted and a new sod
school was built just west of what is now known as Motor Hill.
Second
Epoch, or First Motor Sod
During this period, which was about
six years, the terms were not long varying from one to four months in
length. The furniture in the new sod
schoolhouse consisted mostly of benches.
these benches were taken from the native timber and were sawed at
Chases Saw Mill. They served the
purpose very well, as they were good and strong. These benches were replaced, however, in a few years by a better
seat and desk made of lumber.
According to records and other
information we give the names of the teachers in order with salary and length
of term of each
Ida M Tillotson
2 months
.. $20.00
Mrs. Harriet Romine
. 2 months
.. 20.00
G S Brown
.. 3 months
20.00
Lula S Frisbie
.. 1 month
20.00
Ellen Craen
.. 3 months
.. 20.00
J N McCarroll
.. 3 months
.. 20.00
John Hoskins
.. 3 months
$25.00
I W Rouse
1 month
30.00
R W Hoskins
. 3 months
. 25.00
John Hoskins (second term)
.. 4 months
25.00
Third
Epoch, or Second Motor Frame
In 1886 a new house was erected near
the site of the old sod building. This
building was made of lumber hauled from Hays City and at that time was probably
one of the leading school buildings of the county. This probably was a marked epoch in the advancement of the school
of District No. 11, and characterized the people of this locality as favoring
the best in school advancement.
The first two terms taught in this
building were important and will be remembered as such by the pupils and
patrons who still reside in the community, because of the number of scholars
and the great interest taken and amount of work done.
The teachers who we classify as
having taught in the third epoch of the history of the district and the length
of terms are given as follows:
J H Tucker
. 1 term of 4 months
W N Boggs
1 term of 6 months
W I Jones
.. 1 term of 2 months
J Bryant
.. 1 term of 6 months
F H Ogborn
.. 1 term of 6 months
Nannie Hershberger
. 1 term of 3 months
Viroda Patterson
1 term of 3 months
E G Ganoung
1 term of 6 months
A K Mickey
. 1 term of 5 months
Fourth
Epoch
In 1887 the U.P. railroad was built
through the district and located the city of Codell about one mile south and
west of the old town site of Motor where the former school building stood. This necessitated a change of location of
the school building which was made with the same characteristic energy and
advancement that had been manifested since the beginning of the first
subscription school the people taxed themselves to erect in 1894, what was at
that time a good two story frame building, and furnished it to meet the
educational ideas and requirements of that time. The first teacher in the new building was R. R. Richmond who
taught a three month spring term. At
the annual school meeting of 1894 it was decided to employ two teachers, so in
the winter of 1894 and 95 the school had its first advantage of a two-room
school. E G Ganoung was employed as
principal and S R Tucker for primary room for a term of seven months. This was followed by a short spring term by
J F Langdon.
The teachers who taught in this
epoch and length of terms come in order as follows:
R. R. Richmond April,
May, June 1894
EG Ganoung & SR Tucker Fall
& Winter 1894-1895
JF Langdon Spring
1895
HJ Lambert 1895-1896
RR Richmond, SR Tucker, Bertha Davis 1896-1897
Kate Hunter & Bertha Davis 1897-1898
Mr. & Mrs. HJ Lambert 1898-1899
Mr. & Mrs. HJ Lambert 1899-1900
Kate Hunter & Emma Johnson 1900-1901
WF Hughes & Anna Farrier 1901-1902
WF Hughes & Millie McCord 1902-1903
Grace Crandall & Millie McCord 1903-1904
William Graham & Anna Overholser 1904-1905
Ira C Snyder & Irene Howatt 1905-1906
Ira C Snyder & Irene Howatt 1906-1907
EA Wells & Maude King 1907-1908
JR Ranmaker & Cora Glendenning 1908-1909
Fifth
Epoch
This now brings us up to the fifth
or present epoch of the history of the district. The population of the district and the need for advanced
educational advantages demanded a better and more modern building equipped to
meet the advancement of the surrounding country, the outgrowth of which was the
beautiful modern building equipped with steam heat and built to fill the
requirements of the state laws and of which the district is justly proud. The work in the present building was begun in
1910 by Wallace Sullivan as principal, assisted by HO Darland and Mabel
McCarroll.
It was continued as three-room
ten-grade school by the following teachers:
Emma Stryker, principal
HO Darland and Mabel McCarroll,
assistants 1911-1912
Sarah Burnham, principal
Jessie McCord Miller and Mabel
McCarroll, assistants 1912-1913
HD Wallace, principal
Ethel Prosser and Mabel McCarroll,
assistants 1913-1914
In 1914 the district hired as
principal Prof. CF Williams and assistants, Jennie Fesler and Grace
Mathews. After consultation with Professor
Williams the board decided that it would be an advantage to this and
surrounding districts to install four teachers with a complete course of twelve
grades. A special meeting was called
and the board instructed to procure the fourth teacher and install the twelve
grades. Mary Williams was then procured
as assistant teacher.
The
work done in this term and the results obtained are a fitting climax to a long
line of school history, which as the above facts show has been one of continual
advancement.
In gathering the data for this
history and reviewing the names of those who have at one time or another been
connected with the school as instructors and pupils that their records in
school work and in the business world will compare favorably with teachers and
pupils of any school under like conditions.
Next year (1916) the board has been
authorized to hire five teachers, equip the school with splendid scientific
apparatus, buy a great number of reference books for the library, secure play
ground improvements, and floor the basement for laboratory purposes.
This will make Codell one of the
foremost school towns of its size in the state and will help it maintain its
reputation of having given more teachers to the county than any other school.