Earth And Space Science Project Abstract
POSSIBLE CAUSES FOR ABANDONMENT OF BUCK CREEK SCHOOL IN ZWINGLE, IOWA
Presenters:
Carly N. Nix, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL, 60506; carlyle@imsa.edu
Cecilia A. Westbrook, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL, 60506; cecilia@imsa.edu
Mentor:
Mr. David Gossman, 45W962 Plank Road, Hampshire, IL, 60140; 847-683-2582; dgossman@gcisolutions.com
Abstract:
Before the second quarter of the 20th century, education in the rural United States was based around the single- room, single teacher schoolhouse. In 1900, there were over 12,500 such schools throughout Iowa alone. These schoolhouses were the centers of their community, serving as meeting centers, town halls, and even churches when not in use for school.The Gossman farm in Zwingle, Iowa, contains the remains of one such schoolhouse. Originally called the Buck Creek School, we know that it existed as early as 1875 and as late as 1921, but we have nearly no other information about it. Of the building, there is nothing left but a stone foundation. Preliminary surveys of the site indicate that the school was abandoned suddenly, but if this is the case, the cause of its abandonment is unclear. The historical information indicates that it had fallen into disuse some time before the school district consolidation laws took effect in Iowa, ruling out abandonment for that reason.Through careful analysis of the archaeological evidence on the Buck Creek site, in conjunction with obtaining the local oral histories, a better understanding is gradually being gained about the reasons for the closing of the school.