One Room School Houses in Sugar Grove
HISTORY OF ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSES IN SUGAR GROVE
Source: "Sugar Grove, Illinois 1834 - 1984" by Ruth Frantz and Frank Damon, 1984
Source: “Sin-Qua-Sip, Sugar Grove: A History of Sugar Grove Township, Kane County, Illinois” by Patsy Mighell Paxton
The history of Education in Illinois was first approached in the year 1787 when an ordinance consecrated 1/36 of Illinois soil to common schools. The first law to go into the statues of this state (1818) gave 3% of all the rest of the land to education.
The subject of education received very early attention in Sugar Grove. Through the years of 1835-1837, a number of people settled in nearby communities from Vermont and Massachusetts, then considered to be the “home of education and intelligence” in the New World. Of this group, a Mr. H.B. Densmore helped build the first school in Sugar Grove.
DENSMORE LOG SCHOOLHOUSE
(Denny Road and Bliss Road)
Mr. H.B. Densmore helped build a log house in a hollow not far from the corner of Denny Road and Bliss Road and afterward taught there for a time. The year was 1836. A few years later when it was learned that a teacher had small pox, she was confined there till her death. The building was burned, and the Valley View School / Denney Standard School was built just east of there.
VALLEY VIEW SCHOOL / DENNY STANDARD SCHOOL
(145 Calkins Dr., Sugar Grove, IL)
In 1865, the Valley View School / Denny Standard School was originally built at the top of the hill near 41W455 Denny Rd. It was built just east of an old log house school that was previously located near the corner of Denny and Bliss Rd. This school became known as the Valley View School or Denny Standard School. This was to become the one room school with the longest history of any in Sugar Grove Township. The building site was leased to the school for 99 years with the stipulation that the property return to the original form when it was no longer used for school purposes. It was deemed that if the school was used for teachers' dwelling, the "school purpose" would be satisfied. So it was that James and Maxie Todd moved there in 1949. The building was moved to 145 Calkins Dr. in Sugar Grove, Illinois in 1952 and was occupied by James and Maxie Todd until 1956 when James left the school system. It is currently a private residence.
JESSE MCDOLE SCHOOL
(KaDeKa Road and Illinois Route 47)
Soon after Mr. Densmore opened his school, a second school was built near the present intersection of KaDeKa Road and Illinois Route 47 by Jesse McDole
JERICHO SCHOOL
(East of Mighell Road and Jericho Road)
The Jericho School building was torn down after the consolidation of the school district into the Kaneland School District in 1949.
BERTRAM SCHOOL
(Bertram Road and Illinois Route 30)
The Bertram School is still standing and is now a dwelling at the intersection of Bertram Road and Illinois Route 30.
INGHAM SCHOOL
(Densmore Road and Galena Boulevard)
The Ingham School at the intersection of Densmore Road and Galena Boulevard has been converted into a private dweilling.
GROUSE SCHOOL
(Harter Road)
Another former school now converted into a private home is the old Grouse School standing high on a gravel bank on the northeast side of Harter Road between Illinois Route 47 and Scott Road.