Fort Dodge, Iowa

Fort Dodge has a long history of education. The first school in Fort Dodge was taught by C. C. Carpenter, (a young surveyor who later became the Governor of Iowa) in the winter of 1854-55. The first school in Fort Dodge was housed in the bake house of garrison soldiers, prior to 1956. There were twenty students. With the need for more space, the second school was located further west of the original school in the only church and temperance hall in Fort Dodge. Dexter Weller was the teacher and there were forty students. Legend has it that the school was so cold during the winter that the ink froze while the students were using it and the drinking water froze in the pails before the students could drink it. The third school, started in 1856, was the first public school. Henry Gunn was the first teacher. This school was located at the corner of 2nd Avenue South and 7th Street. It was a two-story brick building known as “Old Brick” and served as a public school for twelve years. “Old Brick” was the only public building in town and was used for holding court, political meetings, church, festivals and other public affairs. After the Spirit Lake Massacre, many local settlers living north and west of Fort Dodge took refuge in “Old Brick”. It was also where the two companies for the Spirit Lake expedition were organized to make the trek to bury the dead and confront the Indians after the Massacre. Fort Dodge had its first divided school in 1860, with an upper and a lower grade. The school continued for three years. Following the war, the number of students grew in Fort Dodge grew significant by 1868. The school board built a large frame school house at Second Avenue South and Eighth Street to house the extra students. It had three rooms and was used until 1869. In 1869, Fort Dodge had grown in population, so bonds were issued and a new twelve-room school was started at the corner of 2nd Avenue North and 10th Street. However, five months later on January 20, 1870, the school building burned to the ground. The school board used the insurance they collected and began a new building on the same location, Second Avenue North and Tenth Street. This new building was ready for use in the fall of 1872. Until it was completed, classes were held in various places: churches, empty store rooms, etc. The new building was named for D. K. Lincoln, president of the school board and an outstanding citizen. The building was then on the edge of town, and people complained of having to send their children “way out on the prairie” to school. It was often referred to as the “School on the Prairie.” The Lincoln School housed all grades, with the high school on the third floor. In 1869, the Lincoln School was the only public school building in Fort Dodge. In 1872 the teaching staff consisted of ten women and one man. Early records do not speak of anyone as principal but refer simply to superintendent, or professor, as he was called. The high school became known for its progressive ideas. New supplies needed in the building were paid for by socials, programs, bazaars, suppers, etc., which students and teachers worked out as money-making projects. Lincoln School had about 350 pupils in attendance. The first high school graduating class was in 1875 – two young women and one young man made up the graduating class. In 1877 there was no graduating class. In 1878 seven students graduated and in 1879 only four. This was at a time when most Iowa towns only carried education through 8th grade. In 1875, there were very few high schools in Iowa, as many Iowans did not see high school as an educational necessity. Even by 1890, high school level education was still fairly rare in Iowa as there were only 88 school districts in the state that offered four years of high school. Government and educational leaders at the state harbored concerns about the education system in Iowa. They argued that the organization of high schools reflected the growing public need for higher education and the high school should be the crowning glory of Iowa’s public education system. At that time, the existing high school curriculum was influenced by college admission requirements. This was a problem, because most students at that time required education and training for bookkeeping, business, journalism, dressmaking, agriculture and other “trade” type jobs, rather than a university education. The 1890s were a time of soul-searching for Iowa educators. Out of the ferment of debate and discussion emerged a consensus around the belief that public schools must identify with the democratic, scientific, and technological forces of modern society and that they must reach out to all segments of the population. In so doing, the schools must work with other social agencies, such as the home, the church, and business, to educate the whole child: "the head, the heart, and the hand," to use a recurring phrase of the time. Outside of the city in the county, one-room school houses were very common. In fact, in the state of Iowa there were as many as 12,000 to 14,000 one-room school houses at one time. Some national educational reports indicated that Iowa had more one-room school houses than any other state in the nation. Generally, a school was constructed near the center of the sub-district in every township so that no child had to travel more than two miles to school. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the kids all walked to school. By 1897 the population of Fort Dodge had grown to 14,000. A new high school building was necessary. It was built on First Avenue North and Tenth Street. It was a three story building of yellow brick with many large windows and three outstanding entrances. Every foot of space in it was used. An unusually high basement had been built so that it could house the superintendent’s office, three recitation rooms, a bicycle room, a gymnasium, coal, boiler, and heating coil rooms. The period between 1890 to 1920 was a time of educational growth and reform in Iowa which impacted education in Fort Dodge. The education movement began transitioning from the small, one-room country school approach, to a more regulated and large school model for providing public education. Consolidations started occurring shortly after the turn of the 20th century, but they started reaching a fever pitch when the automobile – and reliable roads – became a mainstay. Turn-of-the-last-century education reform – compulsory attendance through age 14 and required curriculum and textbooks – put the one-room schools on track to eventual demise. Between 1890 to 1922, the population of Fort Dodge grew significantly and the need for more schools became a priority. During this time period, eleven schools were organized and constructed in Fort Dodge. 1890: Arey School was built 1891: Wahkonsa School was built 1893: The first Riverside School was built 1897: New High School on 1st Ave. North 1910: Butler School built 1912: Second Wahkonsa School built to replace the first one that burnt 1912: Duncombe School built 1914: Pleasant Valley School built 1917: Carpenter School built 1917: Hawley School built 1922: Fort Dodge High School In 1899, there were thirty-eight teachers employed, not including the superintendent, and the buildings then in use were the Pottery, First Ward, West Fort Dodge, Arey, Wahkonsa, Lincoln, and the new high school building. Most of the social activities held by high school groups in the early days were held in the homes. Football was introduced into the school in 1894. Interclass baseball was also played. In 1897 basketball for both boys and girls appeared. Those who played football in those days furnished their own equipment and did the coaching themselves. The music department of the high school did not get underway until 1909. Then the first orchestra had six members. Athletics continued to grow in importance and around 1910 a coach was hired. An area for an athletic field was bought just east of Duncombe School. In June of 1907. the high school building was damaged by fire. Because it was not totally destroyed, it was restored and ready for school in the fall. Due to an increased enrollment, several rooms were enlarged. By 1918, the high school building on First Avenue North rapidly became outgrown. In 1919, petitions were started to ask the Board of Education to call an election to vote to issue bonds so a new lot might be bought and a new school be built and equipped. The vote for a new school carried easily. Because Fort Dodge had spread out on both sides of the river and the distances from outlying districts were great, the question of a location for a new school was important. A consultant from Iowa City surveyed the city, found the center of population, and suggested a location. The Board then chose the site located at 1015 5th Ave North. The building was ready in September, 1922. It was built of dark red brick and is three stories high. Compared to the previous high school, it looked large and massive. (This building eventually became North Junior High after the new high school was built in 1958). In 1921 the Fort Dodge School system added advanced courses beyond the regular four year high school program as the first step toward the establishment of a junior college, a new educational concept of the times. The college classes occupied the third floor of the new high school. The junior college was an extension of the Fort Dodge School System. The first teachers were high school teachers given additional assignments, a practice necessary because state funding did not extend beyond high school. The practice continued until the 1950s. Fort Dodge was the third school in the state to establish such a program. During the following three decades, education continued to transform but no new school buildings were built until World War II ended. In the late 1940s and through the 1950’s, the rural population began to decline and with educational regulations increasing and stricter teacher qualification standards, maintaining the country schools was no longer feasible. As county roads continued to develop and vehicles improved, bus transportation also became a better option. When country school students began attending school “in town” in the late 50’s and early 60’s, it put a squeeze on the available space. The “Baby Boom” generation of students hit Fort Dodge and the community had to respond by building five new schools including a new high school in 1958. By the early 1970’s, public school enrollment hit all-time highs. The schools listed here were built during this period: Fort Dodge Senior High and Junior College (1958) Highland Park School (1952) Hillcrest School (1956) Cooper School (1956) New High School (1958) Feelhaver School (1968) At the start of the 21st century, the schools built in the 1950’s had aged and three new schools have been built; the new Butler Elementary School in 1999; the new Middle School in 2013 and the new Duncombe Elementary School in 2017. All four Fort Dodge elementary schools were named after iconic Fort Dodge leaders; Butler Elementary: Name after J.B. Butler, an education leader and school board member for 27 years. Feelhaver Elementary: Named after Charles Feelhaver, a highly respected school superintendent for Fort Dodge for twenty years. Duncombe Elementary: Named after the renowned Fort Dodge attorney, school board president and community leader, Charles Duncombe. Cooper Elementary: Name after Fred Cooper, renowned coach and educational leader. Today, public school enrollment is approximately 3,600 students. Fort Dodge Community Schools offer one early learning center, four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. The Fort Dodge Community School System offers students a wide range of academic courses, vocation classes, athletic, arts and extracurricular activities. Sources: *Iowa Department of Education *Iowa Biographies Project: History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa… by H. M. Pratt 1913 - Chicago: The Pioneer Publishing Company *Fort Dodge in Pioneer Days …. 1944… by Lucy Taff *Wikipedia