#18: Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse Tour Stop 2: Beginnings

Beginnings of the Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

Beginnings of the Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse at Tallgrass Prairie NPres

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Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse Beginnings

Residents of the Fox Creek area decided in 1897-79 that a school district should be formed for the education of their children. Being one of the earlier districts formed, it was given the number 14, though it was commonly called the Lower Fox Creek School.

The site for the schoolhouse was donated by Stephen F. Jones, located approximately 1/2 mile north of his Spring Hill Farm and Stock Ranch. He stipulated in his donation of the land, that if the school were to ever close, the land would revert back to the ranch owner.

The limestone for the schoolhouse came from the quarry of David Reddiger. David Reddiger, the same architect who built the Chase County Courthouse and the Spring Hill Ranch House, built the schoolhouse for $1,000, completing the work in 1882

The Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse did not hold its first class, however, until September 1, 1884, when the first school teacher was finally hired. The average enrollment at the L1ower Fox Creek Schoolhouse ranged from one to nineteen students in grades 1 through 8. Classes continued to be held in the Lower Fox Creek Schoolhouse until 1930, when the school was closed.

The school district disbanded in 1946-47 and the schoolhouse property reverted back to the ranch owner at that time, George Davis.