Brimfield Township

Brimfield Township, No. 10 N., R.5 E

1945 districts and teachers

• #10 Maple Grove School: Mary Etta Edwards; 1947 #307; 1948 #309
• #11 Whitten School: Dottie Weems Clark; 1947 #307; 1948 #308
• #12 Reed School: Orpha Hart; 1948 #309
• #13 Burt School: Faith L. Houfburg; 1951 #25 and 309; 1969 #322 and 309
• #14 Crowley School: (No School); 1935 #13, 17, 18
• #15 Brimfield School: Walter Mulvaney (P 7&8), Mildred Bragg (5&6), Lois C. German (3&4), Inez Switzer (1&2); 1948 #309
• #16 Radley School: Julia Elliott; 1948 #309
• #17 Bell School: Mary Slayton; 1948 #309
• #18 Paradise Chapel School: Louise Coon; 1948 #309; 1951 #25 and 309
• #19 Gilbert School: No School; 1947 #307; 1948 #309
• #309 Brimfield Community School

Maple Grove School, District # 10

Located S.E. ¼ of the S. E. ¼ Section 2, Brimfield Township 10 N.R. 5

Corner of N. Brimfield Rd. and W. Forney Rd.

Whitten School, District 11

There seems to be no one around Brimfield who remembers very much about District 1. All the information I gathered was given to me by Mr. J.S. Harker, and his father, I believe, was one of the first directors, along with Morrow Reed, Olf Wetzel. One of the first teachers was Anna McNay from Elmwood.

Mr. Harker described the interior of the building as being just plain, plastered walls, not painted. The seats were of cast iron, and the one legged seats which two pupils occupied. The same teacher’s desk, that was the first one purchased is still here.

The stove was called a big Cannon heater and was in the middle of the room.

A long bench, which stood on the west side of the room, held the washbucket.

A long board, painted black, served as a blackboard and hung on the north wall.

There has never been a hallway or cloakroom; coats were hung on the south wall. Boy’s coats on one side, and the girls on the other.

At that time there were forty some pupils which studied arithmetic, history, geography, writing, spelling, and grammar.

Mrs. Emery was the County Superintendent.

A long pointed stick was used for blackboard work; and a hedge stick, which lay on top of the blackboard, was used for punishment.

Around the schoolyard was five foot board fence, a flat board on top. The fence was painted white.

Mr. Harker started going to school here on March 1st, 1867 and the school, according to his memory had been built around five or six years before that.

Mr. Martin Rinehart helped to plant the trees in 1869, which are still here. The well was dug at the same time the trees were planted.

Nicholas Rinehart to the Trustee of Schools, November 17, 1866, deeded the site for the school for school purposes.

Written by Melva La Follett

Reed School, District Number 12

The Reed School District #12 of Peoria County is one of the old schools of the county. The first school building was built in the center of an orchard owned by Mr. Tucker. The building was constructed of logs and had very poor lighting facilities and was hard to keep warm. This building was in use about fifteen years when it was superseded by the building, which has now been in service for over 70 years. The building was erected in 1869 and Miss Eliza Tucker taught the first term during the months of April, May and June. In the years that were to follow the number of pupils attending averaged about thirty but in more recent time the attendance has dropped to between ten and fifteen. This is not due to fewer people living in the district because there are more families now than years ago but it is due to smaller families.

John Hayes 1930's

N Elmore Rd. and W. Forney Rd.

Burt School, District #13

The first records, which have been preserved of the Burt School District Number 13, in Peoria County, are those in 1859. It is quite probable that the school was built about five or six years previous to this time. The school is located due north of Elmwood and due west of Brimfield.

The building was of a frame structure with all the conveniences in it that were known at that time. The globe had just been introduced and one of these was purchased along with a couple maps and some long double straight-backed seats and a teacher’s table. Take it all in all the school furniture of the time was most uncomfortable. In 1859 the teacher of the fall term was a lady and she drew $14.00 per month. A man taught the winter term as this was the time when the older boys attended school and in those days most of the older boys went not with the intention of studying but with the idea of molesting the teacher as much as they could. The salary during this term was a little higher. The smallest salary recorded as having been paid was __. Two years later when the fall term, a period of two months, was taught for a salary of $25.00

In 1902 the present building was erected. It has been kept standard and is equipped with a very good library; a very fine set of modern maps, and has an up-to-date heating system along with all the other conveniences necessary for the comfort of the pupils.

The people who live in the Burt School District are a friendly and social lot. The school is very often used for entertainments and socials.

Probably the two most noted of the pupils of the district are R. Ristine who has been a professor Cornell College in Iowa for many years, and Charles Pratz who is a physician in one of the northern states.

John Hayes 1930

More on the Burt School

Brimfield News: Aug. 21, 1902

H. O. Burt says he came to Illinois in 1844 and it was all prairie and the school house was built about 1857, and was built on land given to the district by his brother, Joseph Elliott Burt, who owned the land.

Brimfield News list the following teachers for Burt School:

• 1880 Letha Robinson
• 1881 Sarah Conver
• 1882 Ella Woods????
• 1892 Laura Fisher
• 1893 Gertie Brown
• 1897-98 Etta McDonnell
• 1903 Miss Dempsy
• 1911 Lillie Woods
• 1925 Maude Adams
• 1926 Iona Rambo
• 1927 Miss Coon
• 1931-32 Dottie Clark
• 1946-47 Mrs. Verna Farquhar (Faith L. Houfburg listed as teacher in 1947. ???)

Burt School closed in 1947 and children then attended Elmwood Grade School.

Brimfield News April 19, 1936

Burt School Presents operetta, directed by teacher, Dottie Weems. “The Rose Dream” will be presented on Friday April 10, at 8:00 P.M.

Students listed in old School Book 1894

• Mary Regan
• Myrtle Stanley
• Minnie Barrett
• Loren Murdock
• Frank Burt
• R. Stanley

Listed in McGuffeys Spelling Book. Owned by Janet Bledsoe

The Burt School was purchased after it closed in 1947 by Harvey Coon for about $50 or $100 with the idea that community events would continue in this building. When Harvey Coon died his daughter Louis Sheppard became the owner. Larry Coon, nephew of Louis Sheppard Coon, now owns Burt School which still stands in its original location.

Brimfield School, District #15

The town of Charleston, which is now Brimfield, Peoria County, Illinois, was surveyed and laid out in the year 1835. The proprietors of this land were Jacob Showalter and Elmore Clark. When the post office authorities had notified the founders that the name must be changed, the settlement was christened Brimfield, the name it has gone by since that time.

The first school was built before the village was laid out and was located on Joe Hurder place. The second erected shortly after 1835 was on the Cady farm but this too was proven inadequate for the growing population so in 1839 a school was built on the ground where the present school house now stands. It was a complete grade school and the first teacher was Ellen Bartlett of Peoria, Illinois.

A few years later the Brimfield Academy was erected. In this building there were six rooms, five of which were used for the grades and one for the high school. This building was sold to the Methodist Church for the purpose of establishing a college, but the college was not started. The Methodists sold the building back to the school board who in turn sold it to Fred Camp who used it for a furniture store and undertaking parlor for a number of years. The building finally caught fire and burned and in its place the Brimfield City Hall is located.

The present school building was erected in the summer of 1877. Mr. Quayle, an architect of Peoria, Illinois, made the plans and specifications. The contract for the building was given Bryson and Silloway on a bid of $8900. The contract specifically stated that the building was to be completed by Oct. 1, 1877 so that school could start at that time.

This building is situated a little north of the place where the old wooden structure stood. It is a brick building having six large rooms, each with its own cloakroom. There are also two large halls and an office, which has been used as a library. The total cost of the building was $11,000.

The building has been modernized as far as equipment is concerned, and is standard in every way.

John Hayes

The Union Academy/Brimfield Academy

Item from The Brimfield News, August 20, 1936 Centennial Edition (copied by Nanette E. Meals), Chillicothe Public Library

It was in 1854 that a much more pretentious school was opened, known as the Brimfield Union Academy. This school, a six room building and accommodating both the lower and higher grades, was originally organized as a stock company with the following men as stockholders: J. W. Dennison, J.C. Hanna, H.M. Barney, L.L. Guyer, Charles B. Day, John B. Day, David Lucas, Cyrus Brooks, J.M. Wiley, Joseph Slocum, Curtis Cady and N.D. Chamberlain.

At the same time some thirty-four public-spirited citizens subscribed $2,105 toward the new building, of which amount $1,808.47 was actually paid. The Academy was erected at an approximate cost of $2,265 which amount includes the purchase of ten lots, the building contract of $1,356.50, $49 for a stove, and $11 for a lightning rod. This building housed the educational activities of the village until 1877, at which time a much finer structure was erected.

Charlie Ekena, Nancy Emerick, Nancy Lou Coon, Mary Ann Coon, Rolland Ekena, Robert Emerick, Mary Emerick, Betty Emerick, Wayne Coon, Jim Coon. Julia Elliott-teacher, Gene Emerick

Radley School, District #16

In 1857, the people of Schools District Number 16 of Peoria County got together and elected a board of directors. This board met and arranged with a contractor by the name Henry Aldrich, for the erection of a schoolhouse to $500.00.

The building is located on the southeast corner of Section 26 in Brimfield Township. The land was secured from George Radley and it was for him that the name of the school was selected. Although it was decided to build the school in the year of 1857, the approaching war and the financial troubles which arrived with it, held the actual building back until 1874 and the paying the contractor did not take place until three years later and then he only got $400.00 instead of the $500.00 as was agreed upon.

The school had 19 pupils when it opened and later had even more but like all rural schools the number has become slightly less in more recent times. The same building is in use now but it has undergone many needed improvements. The stove is of a modern type. The floors are new and without cracks. The blackboards are of slate and amply large to accommodate all the pupils.

Bell School, District # 17

The Bell School which is district number seventeen, but formerly district # 8, of Brimfield Township, Peoria County, is located on a gently sloping hill in the northeast corner of section 44. This school has been known by three different names. It was first called the Kaighan School; being named for the man whose farm was just across the road. Later it became known as the Bell School because of a large bell which hung in the belfry and was rung by a long rope, pealing out loudly enough to be heard for miles around. This name was superseded by the name Oak Grove. There were many white oak trees around the edge of the yard for many years and because of these the name was acquired. Recently the name was changed back again to the Bell School, the reasons being namely that the bell is still being rung by the long rope and is heard for miles around and because in Peoria County there were four Oak Grove Schools, making it very difficult to keep them unconfused. The schoolyard still has many trees around the edge of the yard but today they are maple and not oak trees. Very close to the school yard a large creek runs by and this on warm summer days often causes the teacher more or less worry because it affords such a tempting swimming pool for the boys.

The first school building was erected in 1868 and was an extra good school building for that time. It was equipped with straight benches and desks, called by some, box seats, each of which accommodated two students. Those were nailed to the wall and painted a sky-blue color, which they retained during their entire existence. In these early days the school held many spelling bees, this being the most interesting social gathering that they had in those days.

Nearly always some boy who lived near the school was hired to fire the stove since the teachers most frequently had a long way to go to and from their homes and the school. In the evening the fire was banked and the large door left open so the fire would keep. One night in the year 1888, a spark flew out on the floor and before the residents knew what was happening the school had burned to the ground. The smaller boys of course were very happy with the thought of a vacation but in later years have changed their minds and are now sorry that they missed the half-year in their education.

The school was covered by insurance and in the summer of the following year, a new school was built. Since the fire had not damaged the foundation, the new school building was placed on the old site and expenses lessened greatly by this saving. The building is of ample size with a large hall across the front. The front is toward the east and the teacher’s desk used to be on a raised platform in the front with the pupil’s desks facing east. Due to the fact that the chimney was on the west side and the stove at the recitation end of the room or east side, it was necessary for a long pipe to extend from one end of the room to the other and as this was not a very satisfactory arrangement, the directors changed it. The teacher is now at the east end of the building and the stove is near the chimney, while the pupils have been changed so that they face the west. A steel jacket has been placed around the stove, thus causing a more evenly distributed amount of heat to all parts of the room.

The school has held a great many box suppers and in this way made considerable money with which they have purchased a large library and many other useful things to add to the knowledge of the students.

The Paradise Chapel School, District 18 Peoria County

The land for the first school of District 18 was given by John W. Snyder and David Kemp. Upon this site was a small one room schoolhouse built.

Sometime about 1868 a proposal was made to erect a combined school and United Brethren Church. This plan was materialized when a donation of one thousand dollars was made. This donation was followed by other donations. Over four thousand dollars was contributed.

The little brick schoolhouse was torn down and replaced by the stately brick structure which was completed in 1869. As this was an unusually religious vicinity the church was well attended and well cared for. It was at one time said to be the most beautiful church in this part of the state. Besides the regular church services, debating activities were encouraged. One debate between Reverend Davis, a Universalist minister, and Bishop Weaver of the United Brethren Church lasted for many days.

Church services here were discontinued for many years. The long benches and the pulpit were gone, and the windows broken, nothing remained to tell us of the long forgotten glory of the church.

The schoolroom was the only part of the building which served the people for which it was constructed. The entire first floor was occupied by school children, the school having a 99 year lease from the Church.

The Kemp and Snyder families played important roles in the church and school history of Brimfield Township. David Kemp, grandfather of the late Earl Kemp, an astute land buyer, and John Snyder, father of the late Florence Snyder, both pioneers of the Elmwood vicinity, teamed together to erect the first church, a United Brethren establishment known as Paradise Chapel.

It was located a short distance north of Elmwood. About 40 years later it was abandoned as a church after it had been taken over as a school. In 1923 the school attendance was quite small with only 2 pupils in the district. In 1951 the last school picnic was held, and the district consolidated with Elmwood.

4-H Club was formed naming the club Paradise 4-H for the young girls in the community.

The friends and neighbors of the community organized monthly meetings. Good Times, and potluck suppers with tables loaded with delicious food was enjoyed by all. It too carrying the name Paradise Community Club. The stately structure was sold at auction in 1953. The Community not being able to buy the building as a center, consolidated with the Burt School District. At the present time the Community still enjoys their monthly meetings and get togethers known as the Burt Paradise Community Club.

In 1930 Home Bureau was organized, again adopting the name Paradise Home Bureau known today as Paradise Home Makers. We are happy to have 2 of our Charter Members with us, Edna Seltzer, and Mary Bruniga. Edna was our third County Past President.

Paradise Chapel was demolished in 1969, but its memories is a landmark for everyone in this vicinity.

Transcribed 11/20/1998, by Anna Kemp, from a document written by Dorothy Clarks, Historian