Schoolteachers of Yesteryear

and Other Related Information

By Kelly Warman-Stallings

Published to WTTP on 26 Sept. 2025

The schoolteachers of yesteryear were instrumental tools in educating the children of Miller County, Missouri since almost the beginning of countyhood in 1837. Their job was not only to teach the children the common three 'Rs' (reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic), but they also were responsible to clean the schoolhouse, collect water from a pump or a nearby spring, start the wood stove in Winter and some even cooked food staples, such as ham and beans to feed the children. Thankfully, the older boys were usually assigned to chop the wood for the stove.

Having one teacher to educate all grades (1-8) had to be a challenge! Multiple teachers did not come about until the 1890s when High School classes (9-12) were offered. Teachers during the 1800s most likely spent much of their free time preparing lessons [for all grades] and grading assignments in order to keep on a schedule that was required by the Commissioner of Schools; the first Commissioner in the county was Thomas J. Marshall, elected in 1853. The Commissioner would later become known as a Superintendent of Schools.

According to Peggy Smith Hake, "On Feb. 4, 1840, by a Miller County Court Order, 14 school districts were established and by 1851 that number had increased to 17." Clyde Lee Jenkins wrote in Judge Jenkins History of Miller County, "In 1856 there were 39 school districts in Miller County, but only 11 public schoolhouses. There were 10 men and 2 women teachers. The number of children between the age of 5 and under 20 totaled 2,458, but only 456 children attended school." In 1857, there were 43 school districts and 14 schools, with enrollment of students increasing to 926. By the turn of the 20th century, the number of schoolhouses had increased to 125 and were scattered throughout 82 school districts.

In 1872 the Board of Education, established in 1838, made a list of rules and regulations for the teachers of Miller County to follow (as shown on the right).

Besides the strict rules the schoolteacher of yesteryear had to follow, they were also expected to enforce discipline. This was an important part of their qualifications. Hickory sticks occupying a prominent place in the schoolhouse was common-place and expressively approved by both parents and school trustees. According to Joe Pryor, former President of the Miller County Historical Society, the records that had to be kept and reported included the number of "whippings" given by the teachers. In Miller County, these whippings amounted to 671 for the year ending on June 30, 1892.

The required studies expected to be taught by the teacher were reading, writing and arithmetic. Spelling, grammar and geography was added to the school agenda after the Civil War. History, science and rhetoric were integrated into public school curriculums during the late 1800s; music and art were incorporated in the early 20th century.

The books commonly used were Kirkham's Grammar, McGuffie's Readers, Smiley's Arithmetic, Smith & Olney's Geography, Webster's Spelling and the Bible. Lead pencils were unheard of before the 1870s. Quills and ink (made from walnut hulls and polk berries) were commonplace. Slate boards and chalk were also used.

1872 RULES

FOR TEACHERS

Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.
Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's sessions.
Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.
Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.
After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.
Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
Every teacher should lay aside from each day pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.
Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.
The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.

Early teachers of the 1830s and 1840s included: Samuel Allen, John Blevans, Meredith Bowman, S. Bozarth, John Brockman, Silas Capps, Haman Dyer, E. B. Farley, John T. Gilleland, Elisha Glass, Jesse Gott, S. T. Harrison, W. N. Harrison, E. A. Henry, J. Milton Houston, Thomas J. Marshall, J. S. McComb, W. McComb, James McMillen, Evan Short and Sebastian Williams. Many of these early teachers, scattered throughout the county, were boarded by townsfolk in various communities. There are no known female teachers during this epoch of time.

In 1892, there were 84 teachers employed throughout the county with an average wage for a male teacher being $28.34 per month, while a female teacher received $26.22. This pay trend lasted well into the mid-1900s.

As transportation began developing in the early-1930s, a new system of free public schools evolved into a consolidation of all the small schools in the county and school districts began to drastically shrink. This consolidation trend started in the early-1930's and was completed by 1963, bringing to a close the last of the historic one-room schoolhouses in Miller County and the teachers who taught in them.

Depiction of a one-room schoolhouse

Courtesy of Alder Springs School

Old chalkboard with names etched on it.

Courtesy of White School

Depiction of [Old] Barton School

Courtesy of Mrs. Gertie (Rodden) Witt

School-Teacher Tidbits...

One of the first public schoolteachers in Miller County was Thomas J. Marshall, who taught at Pleasant Mount in the late 1830s. However, according to MCHS website, Rev. J. Milton Houston is believed to have held the first school classes in the county in the 1830s (possibly before countyhood). This was a subscription school near the Rocky Mount vicinity and not many students attended during this time period.

The oldest schoolhouse still standing in the county is Jeffries School, located in the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. The refurbished log building, built in the mid-1800s, was moved from the Kaiser area to its current location sometime between the late-1930s and 1945. Note: A second Jeffries School was built south of Kaiser in the early 1900s when enrollment increased and a bigger school was needed. The second Jeffries School is no longer standing. (See Historic Schools in 2025)

The tenth schoolhouse in Miller County was built on the Andrew McCastland plantation in 1851, where a spring term of school was held that year. It became known as the Franklin Schoolhouse, which later gave Franklin Township its name.

In 1878, school children attended an average of just 33 days of school each year, and teachers in the county earned an average monthly salary of $22.50.

At one time Miller County had three schools for black children. They were located near Eldon, Iberia and Olean. Unfortunately, no records have been found that list the teachers or students. Today, only the Eldon black school remains standing. (See Historic Schools in 2025)

D. W. Baker, a schoolteacher between 1879-1900, educated children at more schools than any of other teacher in the county. He taught at the following schools during his career: Alder Springs, Allen, Capps, Clark, Cross, Elliott, Hickory Point, Rabbithead and Wilson.

The 1872 rules for teachers became more lenient sometime around the early 1880s - especially the marriage clause not allowing females to marry while employed as a teacher. The records show that some female teachers' names changed during this era.

It was not uncommon for a teacher to teach at different schools on certain days during a school year, but it was uncommon for a teacher to resign after only two weeks. This instance occurred in 1916 at Etterville School in northern Miller County when Mr. and Mrs. Roy Brockman quit their teaching duties. It is unknown why this occurred. While Mrs. Brockman cannot be found anywhere else in records before or after this happened, Mr. Brockman was found at Skinner School in the early 1900s.

Bowlin School, once located 200 yards north of present-day School of the Osage football field, was replaced with 'New' Bowlin School in 1933. By 1934, School of the Osage was built as consolidation began and replaced the historic schoolhouse, closing its doors forever as a learning institution. However, the 'New' Bowlin School was used as a cafeteria until 1952. In 1975, 'New' Bowlin School was tore down and paved over to make way for a High School parking lot.

The majority of historic schoolteachers were one-term or two-term educators. Over the years, 1,277 teachers have been recorded as teaching in the small schoolhouses of Miller County. This number doesn’t include teachers from the 'recorded lost schools,' where no information is available. While some dedicated teachers spent many years in the profession, others taught at numerous schools for shorter periods.

There are five old country schools in the county that have no information available, but they are recorded as once existing: Bend, Colburn, Jenkins, Mt. Gilead and Ross. It is possible these schools were established sometime between the mid-1800s through the early-1900s but ceased to exist before 1938 as they are not listed in the SHSMO following source: Weber, Frank. "Place Names Of Six South Central Counties of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.

Firsts in the County...

The first schoolhouse in the county, built sometime around the late 1830s-early 1840s, was located at Pleasant Mount.

Iberia was first to construct a school for black children (later known as Iberia Negro School) in 1869.

Eldon was the first public school to hold a 12th grade graduation in 1915.

School for the Blind was the first to teach the regional blind children in Glaize Township from c/1924-1929.

Tuscumbia was first to bus children to school in 1932 and first to add an indoor gymnasium in the 1940s.

Etterville School was the first to build a stage in the primary room c/1936-1937 and the first to organize a PTA around the same time. Also, the first to have a hot-lunch program c/1940-1941.

[New] Barton School was the first to have a basement in 1953.

Honey Springs was the first school in the county to educate deaf children during the early 1950s into the early 1960s.

High School Graduations...

The first recorded High School graduate in Miller County was Stella (Moore) Garner, who graduated from the Iberia Academy in 1893. The next graduation occurred at the Eldon Academy in 1904 [at this time school only went to the 10th grade]. The following are the first High School graduation ceremonies for the current public schools in the county: Eldon (1915), Iberia (1941), School of the Osage (1934), St. Elizabeth (1945), and Tuscumbia (1921).

Eldon High School was built 1915. The building was later used as a Junior High School. The building was demolished in 2011.

Eldon High School Gymnasium was built c/1940s. The old gym existed until 1984 when the weight of heavy snow collapsed the roof.

School Name Changes...

If searching for a particular teacher in a particular school and cannot find them, look under the following school name changes. A few Miller County schools underwent name changes during their duration of existence. For the most part it is unknown why the school's name changed but usually occurred to be renamed after a family whose land the school was on or for the settlement in which they were built.

Snufflelut School ....................

Red School ...............................

Springdale School ..................

Otto School...............................

Curty School ............................

Britt Taylor School..................

Lizzard Kick School.................

Black Oak Grove School..........

Pleasant Hill School................

Alder Springs

Baumhoer School

Capps School