Hallock Township

No. 11 N., R. 8 E.

Blue Ridge School

District #32

The first school in what is now district number 32, Hallock Township of Peoria County, was a log cabin owned by Isaiah Nurse.  The cabin was used by him for a home and donated to the children of the district for educational purposes.  Miss Bliss taught the first session in the summer of 1839.  Only two terms were held in this building and it was decided that there were too many students for such a small place.

In 1841 a brick structure 18 square was erected on the site of the present school.  This school was known as a subscription school.  Each family who had children in attendance, paid a certain amount for each child in attendance for each term he  or she attended.  The terms were three months long and there were three terms each year, the fall, the winter, and the spring term.  The large boys who were usually quite unruly and made it necessary for the school board to hire a man during this period attended the winter term.  The building had one room for the school and a small cloak room for wraps.  The teacher’s desk was set on a high platform in the front of the room while around the room on three sides a board was nailed slanting out in such a way that the students could use it for a writing desk.  There were no other desks in the room and the only other furniture were the long benches used by the pupils when they were not writing, and the cast stove, which stood very near the center of the room.

In the year of 1850, the township was organized into districts and 1856 another school building was erected.  This building is a story and one half structure, the lower floor being one large room used for school and two smaller rooms above being used for meeting of the Order of the Sons of Temperance and as a store room.  This organization has lone since gone out of existence but its existence at one time helped the school in as much as it paid for part of the building expenses and helped pay the upkeep and fire bill for a number of years.

This building has been in use since that time.  It has been improved from time to time.  It now has modern single seats and desks, a furnace for heat and good lighting and ventilation facilities.

This school as yet has not graduated any men who have become famous.  However, many who have been in attendance since its founding have made good in their chosen professions and during the three wars that have involved United States since the founding of the school,  Blue Ridge has had a noted representation.

J.A. Hayes

Blue Ridge School

District #32

Blue Ridge

District #32

1954 Marshall Co. #20

1968 #321 IVC

Northampton

Distirct #33

1954 #315 Union CC

1968 #321

Union

District # 34

1954 #315

1968 #321

Southampton

District #35

1952 #313

1969 #326 Princeville

Centerville

District #36

1952 #313

1969 #326

Edelstein

District #37

1952 #313

1969 #326

West Hallock

District #38

1952 #313

1969 #326

Simms (Pleasant View)

District #39

1954 #315

1968 #321

Lawn Ridge

District #151

1954 #313

1969 #326

Students of the Blue Ridge School are pictured in 1939. 

Top Row: Teacher Edith Shimp, ?, Kenneth Perry, ? Lewis, Ira Placher, Arthur Trowbridge, Mike Colwell

Middle Row: ?, Charles Colwell, Mary Colwell, Audrey Nurse, Wilma Trowbridge, Marilyn Miller, Alice Placher, Joanne Davis,?

Bottom Row:  Bob Miller, June Colwell, Darlene Stotler, Janice Harkin, Mary Nurse, ?,, Freddy Stotler

(Courtesy of Mary Nurse Meyer)

Princeville Heritage Museum

Grassel Collection

Former school now used as a residence in Northampton

Northampton School

District #33

A short time before 1840, the first schoolhouse, a little log cabin, was build in section 33 of Hallock Township in Peoria County.  There were three windows and one door in he structure.  The floor was built of split logs and naturally enough was quite rough, while the seats of the room were the long bench variety, so common to those early schools.  This building stood on a high clay hill among a grove of oak trees, about one half mile west of the present schoolhouse site.  A narrow crooked path, a branch from the Old Glena Road, wound in out among the tress and ended at the schoolhouse door.  To get to the school by this path it was necessary to cross the Henry Creek and across this creek the settlers built a rickety old bridge which was quickly covered with vines, making the setting about the school quite quaint and picturesque.  At this ridge the children had great fun, pushing one another off, or throwing a hat in the water.

About a hundred yards east of the bridge, a blacksmith shop stood and at this shop the boys spent many happy hours.  Directly back of the shop a farmhouse was located.  At this farmhouse a large spring well was located and it was here that the water for the school was secured.  Across the path and about 20 rods further away from the school a small store was located.  Here the school children stopped to get the family groceries each night after school.  This store is still in existence and being run by descendants of the man who owned it in 1940.

In 1858 a one room, red brick school building was erected on the Galena Road at the Northampton turn, on the same site where the present school stands.  A large playground was cleared a board fence built around three sides of the lot, the fourth side being along the road.  A stove set in the middle of the room as was most schools of that period heated this building.  In one corner of the yard a large elm tree stand now that was set out when the building was erected.  This tress furnished the teachers, all through the history of the school, with switches to aid in the administration of education as it was administered in those days.

In 1898, the present school building was erected.  This building is much more modern than the previous building.  It is equipped with single seats and desks and has a large heater which sets in one corner of the room, supplying the entire room amply with heat even on the coldest days.

Union School

District #34

Union School District #34 had the first school in Hallock Township.  The first school was run by means of a subscription and was held in a private home located on the site of the Harrison Reed farm.  The first term was taught in this place the years of 1829-30 and was taught by Rev. Jeriels Root’s daughter, Lucia Root.

The fist building erected for the purpose of being used for a school was placed about forty rods north of the Joel Hicks home and was erected in the fall of 1836.  This building was roughly constructed of logs, with split logs for a floor and had very poor lighting.  After being used in this location for eight years, it was moved to the Hallock farm where school was kept until 1850 when the new building was erected.

The new building had long benches for the children to sit on and a large blackboard across the front.  It however did not have thee curtains, the clock, the organ, or many other things that it got later.  The first school had a large wood stove set in the center of the room, but a large jacket covered the first floor heater has been installed.  The seats have long since been changed to the modern seat and deck combination.

A bit of record saved from 1862 reads as follows: “We had no well so carried water from the two neighboring farm houses.  The children are singing the times tables this year, as it has been found to be the best way for them to learn them.  I boarded around with the children, as there were no permanent boarding places.  Our salary ranges from $30.00 to $40.00.”

The people of Union District will proudly point out the vestiges of the old mill which once operated near where the school is now located.  They will also show you where the Union Church one stood and tell you how it burned shortly after it was sold to a farmer to used as a barn.  The last but not least they will tell you of, is the hall where the once very famous order of Gangers met and how these fearless men of the old days drove out horse thieves and chicken thieves, etc.  Some of them will probably show you an old log or two which has been preserved from the Block House, built prior to the Black Hawk War and if you should happen to thirsty, you could have a drink from the old well which as been used since the earliest days in 19th century.

In the late fall of 1935, the latter part of December, the school last refereed to in the paragraphs above was burned to the ground.  In the spring 1936 preparations for building a new schoolhouse to approximately $5000 was begun.  This school is modern in type and accommodations and is one of the best schools in Peoria County: modern in every respect.

Southampton School

District # 35

In 1825 and 1826 there was a settlement started around Union and Northampton.  These settlers chose this territory not only because it would protect them, but also there would be close at hand food, water, fuel, and building materials.

Lewis Hallock came to Peoria in 1820 and very soon after he settled at the mouth of what is known as Hallock Hollow.  This is West of Union, and the first home in Hallock Township.  Mr. Hallock was a Quaker and did not believe in war, so the Indians named him “Man of Pearce.”

The Eastons came to the district in 1837.  William Easton was a farmer and carpenter and he, with Ebenezer Stowel built all the coffins for the several surrounding counties for many years until factory built coffins were shipped in.

In 1845 Daniel Hakes came to Hallock Township.  He was a great Sunday School worker and gave a picnic for all the Sunday School attendants for miles around every year.  These picnics were attended for over thirty years.

The first school was built in 1848, the year before the great California gold rush took place.  This school is standing today with a few changes, additions and repairs.  The school was frist known as the Easton School and 7 pupils attended. The Sunday School, taught by Uncle Daniel Easton was held in this building until the Easton family moved away and there are a good many hymn books and a Holy Bible in the school library as evidence.

The neighborhood gatherings of those early days were held in the school building and usually were in the form of spelling bee, a debate, or on few occasions just gathering with impromptu entertainment supplied by everyone present.

A new foundation has been place under the old school building and slate blackboards have been installed to replace the old pasteboards painted with lack paint.  New toilets have been built and a fence has been put around the yard.

Centerville School

District #36

The first school in District number 36 was held in the year of 1850 with Collins Kimball acting as teacher.  The first school was very similar to the other pioneer schools of the country, being equipped with long hard benches with desks, the teacher sitting on a raised platform with a switch in the corner to used frequently upon the unruly overgrown boys who attended during the winter terms.  In 1856 the building was moved a short distance from the present site, where school was held for six years.  At this time the district had too many children in it to be accommodated in such a small building and as the equipment was very poor and cost of erecting new building was small, it was decided to erect as modern a school as was know about at that time.  This building was in use as it was built until 1917, when it had become very much out of date again.  In 1917 the school was remodeled to conform to the standard requirements of the state.

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West Hallock School

District #38

A party of Seven Day Baptists who had come to Illinois an early day from their New York state homes founded West Hallock School.  Many of these settlers were graduates from schools and colleges in New York and fully appreciated the value of an education.

The children of these families were obliged to walk two and three miles to attend the overcrowded schools of what are now Southampton, Centerville, Potter, and Timmons Districts.  These schools did not offer advanced education to those pupils who had already completed the first courses in reading, writing, and arithmetic and were eager to prepare for entrance to eastern colleges. 

Witht this idea of higher education in mind, the leading citizens of the community began to plan an academy building which could be used as a meeting house for church services on Saturday and as a schoolhouse the rest of the week for those young people who desired a higher education. 

Elder Anthony Hakes, who was pastor of the Seven Day Baptist congregation, was a staunch friend of education and one of the foremost leaders in the establishment of the academy.  He had for able assistants Daniel Hayes, Thomas Vars, John Simpson, George Butts, Perry Stillman, Mr. Garrison, Riley Potter, Cebious Burdick, Winter Green, Deacon Saunders, Asa Potter, William Saunders, Mr. Estes, and Mr. Reynolds.

John Simpson gave an acre of land on the west side of his farm for the academy and grounds.  Work on the new building began immediately with their members of the Seven Day Baptist congregation doing their own carpenter work.  The building was completed and ready for use in 1856

The structure was thirty-four feet east and west and twenty-four and one half feet north and south with five and one half feet of the west end in a hallway.  Six large windows, three on the north and three on the south, furnished ample light.

Two stoves, one on the northern side and one on the south side heated the room.  The chimney was in the east end of the building.  At first there were no desks, only handmade seats for the pupils to sit upon.  In the front of the room was a platform upon which the master’s desk was placed.

There was no organ or other musical instruments.  The church members did not believe in such for school and church.  In their own homes, however, they were considered a necessity.

Mr. Babcok was the first teacher in the new academy.  His wife gave music lessons at her own home on her own piano.

The academy lasted only about five years when the expenses were becoming more than the community could stand.  When the West Hallock School District was formed by a special act of the legislature, the academy building became the district schoolhouse.

Sabbath School, church services, and payer meeting continued to be held in the schoolhouse.  In 1871 the member of the Seven Day Baptist Church erected their church building on the opposite side of the street from schoolhouse and a little to the north.  The churchyard was purchased from Mr. Stillman.

The approximate cost of the church was $4400.00.  The members of the church did most of the carpenter work themselves.

In the church, seats enough for five-hudred people were provided.  At that time the church membership numbered 14 families.  The West hillock Seven Day Baptist Church was dedicated November 18,187

West hillock was a growing town at the time.  The cheese factory was built in 1875 or 1876 on the southeast corner of Section 24 in Akron Township on land purchased from Edward Burdick.  This cheese factory was a community affair, the milk producers being stockholders in the company.  Mr. Culver was one of the early managers of the factory.  The original factory burned and  the company did not wish to rebuild.  George Butts, Edward Burdick, and William Spicer rebuilt the factory, however, and continued to make cheese until their deaths.

George Overend purchased the farm, including the cheese factory, from the Burdick heirs and resold the factory to John H. Strong, who continued to make cheese until December 1912.  After the factory closed the land was broken up and put into farm crops and the buildings were sold to Chris Westofer who moved them to his farm to remake in a barn.  The first store in West Hallock was a shoe shop owned by Mr. Garrison, who made shoes to order.  This store was just across the road and little south of the schoolhouse.  Del Potter purchased the shop from Mr. Garrison and rebuilt it. He ran a general store and post-office in the new building for some time.

Following Mr. Potter, Mr. Greehood operated the store for a few years.  Mr. Greenhood was succeeded by E.E. Wheeler, who was the last postmaster West Hallock, that job having been handed down through the store owners until the establishment of the rural free delivery in 1905 or thereabout.  The store continued to run for some time under the management of Walt McWhorter, and then the building was moved to Edelstein and now the post-office there.

Daniel Potter owned a blacksmith ship on the northwest corner of Section 30, Hallock Township at an early date.  Riley Potter ran a blacksmith ship the second plotof the Schoolhouse on the  Hallock  side.  Nile and Herbert Burdick owned and operated a blacksmith shop and a wagon making concern a half mile north of the schoolhouse.  The blacksmith ship burned and was replace by a building, which was later, moved to C. J. Stine farm.  Herbert Burdick sold the wagon ship to Alfred Tallet who continued to do a wagon repair business until the shop burned.   Mr. Hummel, a harness maker, owned a shop a short distance north of the church.

Michael Blallou was a popular carpenter in West Hallock at that time.

When the Santa Fe Railroad Company made their first survey, the line went through between the schoolhouse and the church.  The second survey went farther north somewhere near the Burdick workshop.  A later survey went still farther north through the present town of Edelstein.

During all these years the West Halleck Church grew in popularity and strength.  The members of this faith were musically inclined.  They had a large band which furnished music for all occasions many miles around.  The band dressed in handsome uniforms gaily decorated with gold braid and brass buttons and traveled in a brilliant band wagon drawn by a double team of matched horses.

This community had a quartet composed of George Potter, Wallace Simpson, Ansel Couch, and Morton Vars, who were very popular entertainers at many social functions.  Among other talented musicians were Ellen Saunder, Louise Simpson, Nelle Hakes, and T. A. Saunders.  The Burdick family was also musical.

After 75 years the old academy building still stands and is today our schoolhouse.  During those past years many changes have taken place in order to keep pace with modern times.  The old fashioned seating arrangement has given way to the more recent single seats.  The heating system was changed to the Smith system several years ago.  Separate coatrooms  were made for the boys and girls by partitioning off the north and south ends of the hallway.  The old fashioned organ of earlier time has been replaced by a piano.

In the summer 1929 the school board built a fuel room in the east end of the school building.  There was an entrance to this room direct from the main part of the building.  At this time a cement platform and steps were made at the front entrance.

In the spring of 1930 electric lights were installed. A well was drilled in the fall of the same year and a curb of cement was made.  The well is connected to the schoolhouse by a cement woak(?).  At some previous time a sink and drain were installed in the hall.

Gravel and sand, spread around the front of the building, reduce the amount of mud in wet weather.  Some playground equipment has been provided.  A double row of soft maple trees on the south side of the schoolyard furnishes ample shade during the warmer months.

Slate blackboards have replaced the old painted boards and provide better than  sixty feet of work space.  A sand table, a kindergarten table, small chairs, and a planetarium have been added to the school furnishing during the past few years.

The people of this community are justly proud of their school and its progress, and they lend their loyal support to all its undertakings.

Pleasant View School (Simms’ School)

District #39

The history of school district number 39, of Peoria County, starts in the year of 1851, when a little log house was built up a little plot of ground purchased Mr. Simms.  It was for this man the school was named.

Another superseded this building in the year of 1856.  This building stood until 1927.  During those 71 years of service the building was plastered twice and the foundation covered with cement once.

In 1927 another building was erected.  This building is constructed of brick and is very modern in every way.  It is located on the same site as the previous building.

The Simms’ School is in Hallock Township, Range number 8 and until 1902 was known as District Number 5. At this time the district became number 39.

This district is one of the old settlements of the county.  It boosts of a large membership in Grangers, at the time when this famous organization was in flower.  It had a gristmill located within its boundaries and is not far from where the old blockhouse was located before the Black Hawk War for protection from Indians

E. Cloverdale Rd. (east of Krause Rd.)

West Hallock located at Lake Shore and Hakes Road

Corrections, additions, please email

       flower1945@comcast.net

Where exactly was  Hallock School?

Former School for sale 2009

Built in 1927 Former Pleasant View (Simms) School located on  E. Cloverdale Rd.

Stone marks the Blue Ridge School site next to the Blue Ridge Church located on Blue Ridge Road off County Road near Route 40.

Three little girls standing in front of the store in Northampton.

Front Row:  Raymond Sturm, Collins Glaze, Oscar Dunbar, Gordon Hawk, Robert Glaze, Clair Glaze, Olaga Krause (later Mrs. Glen Zweifel), Vera Gill (Mrs. Joe Rose)

Standing: Everette Perdew, Paul Young, Harold Gill, Edwin Dunbar, Mrs. Frank Foster, Teacher and Aunt of Harold and Vera Gill, Elsie Perdew (Mrs. Lois Stoeker), Mildred Shirley (Mrs. Harold Gill), Virginia Hauk