Scope and Contents

The Aletha Hutchison (Jacobs) Collection is composed of materials documenting Hutchison's experiences both as a student and as a teacher in the rural school systems of Iowa and Pennsylvania.  The collection includes official school records and Hutchison's personal papers providing insight into many facets of rural school life from 1898-1960.

Scope and Contents

The August Meester Collection is comprised of records dating from 1927-1955. The records were kept by the donor from his time as the District Board of Education Secretary for Grundy County, Pleasant Valley Township, #6.

Scope and Contents This collection contains documents from the rural school system of Des Moines County, Iowa dating from 1882-1980. The records cover a majority of the rural schools’ histories, but they are not comprehensive: some records were lost before their transfer to the Center for the History of Rural Iowa Education and Culture. The collection material is arranged into four series: “State of Iowa Department of Public Instruction, 1926-1963”, “County Board of Education, 1919-1969”, “Office of the...

Scope and Contents

The Funnemark Family Collection contains educational publications and student records dating from 1912-1947. Student records include certificates, awards, and workbooks covering the following subjects: civics, arithmetic, geography, and history. Various issues of The Instructor and Children's Activities compose the educational publication collection.

Scope and Contents

As the District Board of Education Secretary for Black Hawk County, Cedar Falls Township, #6 Eddy School, Harry Barck amassed a collection of rural school records that shed light on the duties of a school board officer. In addition to Mr. Barck's secretarial records, The Harry Barck Collection contains materials from Mrs. Pauline L. Barck (Hekel), a rural school teacher, and the student records of the couple's two children, Frances A. Brunskill (Barck), and Philip H. Barck.

Scope and Contents This collection contains documents from the rural school system of Lyon County, Iowa dating from 1878-1981. The records cover a majority of the rural schools’ histories, but they are not comprehensive: some records were lost before their transfer to the Center for the History of Rural Iowa Education and Culture. The collection material is arranged into four series -- “County Board of Education, 1883-1975”, “Office of the Superintendent, 1881-1981”, “Township, 1878-1960”, and “District and...

Scope and Contents

These are collections of records which document the activities of multiple counties.  Many of these collections were created at Area Education Agencies (AEAs) as they filed records recieved from their constituent counties together rather than separately.

Scope and Contents

This collection, dating from 1924-1929, originated from the #3 Rough Woods schoolhouse located in Hardin County, Pleasant Township. Consisting solely of teaching aids known as the "Instructor Picture Series", the Rough Woods School Collection provides insight into the teaching methods utilized in rural schools. The "Instructor Picture Series" encouraged students to think critically about works of art and develop oral and written communication skills in the process.

Scope and Contents

This collection is composed of rural school related publications and forms diseminated by the Iowa State Office of Public Instruction from. This includes a near-complete run of the State Educational Directory, volumes 17 through 40 of the Educational Bulletin, and two volumes of the Dispatch as well as blank teacher contracts and school census forms.

Scope and Contents

The William L. Sherman Collection contains a variety of records pertaining to rural schools and rural school reenactment programs including rural school photographs, reproductions schoolbooks, brochures, and programs. Mr. Sherman continues to conduct research and to add to this collection.