Image by Mdy66/via Wikimedia Commons
Mark Oppold with an American Agriculture History Minute says One-room schoolhouses are an important part of American agriculture history.
Early settlers knew the importance of education since a large portion of the population lived in small rural communities or isolated rural areas. The local one-room school was the answer, often built by nearby farmers. In fact, most of the teachers were elderly daughters of nearby farmers.
Abraham Lincoln attended a one-room school in rural Illinois in 1822. Many of these very schoolhouses were still in operation, and didn’t close until the 1950s. Two hundred are currently listed as National Historic Places.
That’s today’s American Agriculture History Minute. I’m Mark Oppold. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.