History of Pleasant Valley
Compiled by Mabel J. Clause in 1976
Peoria Historical Society Collection
Bradley University
For some time it has been the desire to compile information on a history of Pleasant Valley School. I claim no talent as a writer but more as an interested student of history. Unfortunately, there is little information available. This is an attempt to compile available data and share my findings.
After this part of the country was acquired from the Indians it took a good many years to settle and become organized. There were no schools for quite some time. Educational affairs, like all else, were in chaos in this wilderness. It is therefore wise, at this time, to review some of the early history of Peoria County in order to understand the early history of schools particularly our Pleasant Valley School.
People made their own clothing. Everywhere you could hear the rattle of the loom and the buzz of the spinning wheel. Sheep were sheared in the spring, burrs removed from the wool, carding was done by hand. The wool was spun into yarn, reeled into hanks; bleached in the sun or colored with butternut bark or onion skins before it could be woven into garments. The material sold for $1.00 per yard. Ladies and young girls wore the linsey dresses. Hands knit socks were sold for fifty cents a pair. Men and boys wore buckskin pants, moccasins, and coonskin caps. The homes were log cabins covered with clipboards with poles to keep the roof from blowing off. Floors were mud. Cooking utensils were skillet, pot and frying pan. The cups were tin cups. Meats were boiled or roasted. Potatoes were often roasted in the ashes of the fireplace. There was no such thing as a stove in Peoria County. The main menu consisted of potatoes, hominy, dried pumpkin, meat and milk. Wild fruits in summer and honey were popular desserts.
The land was plowed with wooden moldboard plow, steel point and share. Harrows, rakes and forks were made out of wood. Horses tramped out of the wheat on the hard ground; two men would make a wind with a sheet to blow out the chaff. Corn was cracked with stones. The Virginia reel and French Four were danced in the homes. No happier people could be found for miles around.
The settlements of Limestone Township reaches back as early as 1723. We are interested here because our school is in this township. References will be made to various sections, which comprise our school district. There are: Sections 25, 26, 35, 36, 1, 2, ½ of 12, and corner of Section 11. The Indian name for Kickapoo is Red Bud or Judas tree. On a line dividing Sections 35 and 26 there was established a total of three acres on the east side of the Kickapoo River for a mill owned by George O. and Francis P. Kingsley.
In the 1765 Jean Baptiste Mailett obtained a grant from Great Britain of 1,400 acres at the mouth of the Kickapoo. This grant took in a part of the Limestone Township. All these farms were vacated during the War of 1812 when the village was destroyed. It is said that Abner Eads, one of the first settlers in Peoria, lived in Limestone Township. Records tell us that Joseph Moffatt came here in 1822.
About a month before the passage of the act to create Peoria County, an act was passed for the establishment of free schools on January 18, 1825. This act provided for local elections for town and school officers. Before this all school the county officers ran affairs.
Peter Grant taught the first school in any part of Peoria County at Ft. Clark about 1821. The teacher was paid by subscription of 25@ per pupil. Grant then went to teach in Lewistown and later to Palmyra, Missouri. The next school was built in 1823 for Indian children but white children could attend. Reverend Jesse Walker, hero of Methodism in Illinois, taught this school.
In may 1826, Mrs. Maria (James) Harkness wrote an article of agreement proposing to teach in Ft. Clark in Peoria which stated “I purpose to teach spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography and needlework at $1.50 per scholar for a term of three months and board.” She had an average daily attendance of 24. This school was in a log cabin owned by William Holland, a village blacksmith. The building had no windows; only light came in by this opened door. School was held here only a week when it was moved to a new hewed log cabin, owned by Mr. Ogee. This school was later used as the Peoria Court House. Mrs. Harkness supplied, “The first school in Trivoli Township was taught by Ruth Waters in a log cabin built by Isaac, Daniel and my husband, James Harkness. In Elmwood Township Mrs. Eliza Rowley taught the first school, near the village of Southport.” The school term was for only a few months in the winter. Parents of the children paid their tuition while the teachers boarded with the families.
If the settlers had enough money for the sash windows the school had them, most of the school buildings did not. On cloudy days when pupils could not see to do deskwork there were spelldowns and he teacher would have to open the door a crack to see the word. The seats were made of puncheons or a suitable size tree cut to the desired length then split in two and legs attached. We must remember that during this time there were less than fifty houses in Peoria, in 1832.
In 1829 the Harker family came to live in the southwest corner of the township, known as Harkers corners. The Limestone Township can boast of having the first two flourmills in the county. Much of the flour was shipped to St. Louis by boat. People would come from sixty miles away for grist. In 1833 Joshua Aiken and Robert E. Little both wealthy, obtained 1,000 acres of land in Horseshoe Bottoms, now known today as Pottstown.
Also in 1833 Ora Hamlin and Alva and Aquilla Moffat erected a mill dam in Section 12, now the vicinity of Middle Road. This was the mill that sawed the first lumber in the Peoria Court House. There is record of Hale Grist about two or three miles from Peoria. From the facts one can judge the importance of the Kickapoo Creek as a mill stream at that time. “Summerville” was a section with a post office laid out in the vicinity of the County Farm. Little or nothing is known of the very first school in Limestone Township. We have reason to believe that Pleasant Valley was the first school in Limestone Township. As its district number 1 in Peoria County and because of its proximity to the city of Peoria. One of the first schools was taught by Simeon Ward in a log house where William C. H. Barton lived in what we know as Bartonville. Limestone Township had one of the first railroads, the Peoria and Qquawka. It extended from Peoria to Edwards in 1855. the population of the township consisted of many German, some Welsh, Scotch Irish, English, and American. Early German settlers were: Conrad Bontz, Beatty Johnson, George Ojemann, Bruno Brunina, Henry Fash, Peter Grafleman, Henry Heuermann, John Johnson, Christian Koeppel, Hilber Rosebohm, Adolph Peters, Joseph Shoal, William Swords, Hallers, and Roelfs families.
A History of Peoria County Illinois, published in 1880, states, “Limestone Township is now divided into 9 full districts, in each is a good school house. There is a union district now at Harkers Corners.” In 1835 there is record of a school at Lancaster (west of Glasford, perhaps in vicinity of the old Scovil School), and one at Dry Run (Wheeler). Land then sold as low as $1.82 per acre with interests being used for school purposes. Church services were held in the schools, as were the township meetings. There were no post offices.
July 23, 1836, Norman Purple and Andrew M. Hurd laid out a village of 17 blocks in the Sections 35. This village was very near the mill and only a short distance from the present village of Pottstown. Sam Potts was one of the principal operators of the Hall’s Mill. September 1889 Mrs. Ann Potts, Sam’s widow, laid out a plot on the west half; N. W. ¼ of Section 36 and this became the village of lively miners. The Presbyterians established a church there, which still stands. Many residents were compelled to move their houses when property was appropriated for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, which was to run through the town.
The Limestone Methodist Episcopal Church was located in Section 4 on Farmington Road and organized in 1849. The preacher was Reverend John Borland. Other early churches were the Christ Episcopal at Jubilee, Presbyterian in 1859, and German Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1855.
Following is a list of early settlers around this portion of the county: John C. Cameron, Joseph Doubet, Edward Bal, Hanry Bergman, John Miller, Sam and George Potts, Frederick Schulz. Some names with which we are familiar are: Vicary, Stear, Pritchard, Burdett. Bell, Williams, Swords, and Wyss.
Pleasant Valley School was organized about 1837. There is no doubt that the very first school building was a one-room log cabin. An eighth grade girl said, “I guess some one looked out over the valley, saw how beautiful the scenery was and decided to call the school Pleasant Valley”. It was related the William Swords gave land for the first “modern” school which was also a one room school.
This school burned in 1900 and was quickly replaced by another. The doors and windows were decorated with old fashioned shutters a bar across as a lock. A large wood stove served as an ample heating unit of that day. As the community grew so did the school enrollment and a second room was added about 1922.
William J. Buchanan served as teacher in 1901 for a salary of $45.00 per month. June 1908 census revealed that there 94 children in the district under the age of 21. The school tax levy was $400. The school enrollment was 47. When the second grade room was added it was necessary to have two teachers to serve the 91 boys and girls. Each teacher was paid $900 per year.
The next History of our Schools was compiled by John A. Hayes, County Superintendent of Schools, in 1924. Mr. George Ojemann aided him. “District 62 is located on Farmington Road in what is know as Pleasant Valley, so called because of it beautiful and pleasant scenery. Just below the school are a church and parsonage. These buildings were at one time located on Plank Road. Some years ago they were moved to their present location a much more satisfactory. At present the church has a large congregation.
Plank Road, which up until fifteen years ago was constructed of railroad planks, is located just a short distance from the schoolhouse. There is to be a paved road between Pottstown and Bartonville and crossing Pleasant Valley, which is to be know as a scenic drive. Two railroads run almost directly through this community, namely the C.V. & Q. the Northwestern.
Few people lived here for more than a period of ten years. Some of the oldest residents are the Swords and Jones families. Bother are well known throughout Peoria County. Members of the Swords family donated the land on which the school and church are now located. Mr. Swords built a store just south of Kickapoo Creek. It was the first store in the community, but since it has been made into a dwelling house. Later Mr. Swords built a second store and filling station located approximately two mile south of the old site. This area is known chiefly as a mining center. A mile south of the school is the Hill Top Mine, from which many tons of coal is mined daily. Some corn is raised. Since Pleasant Valley is located two miles south of Peoria, many of its residents are employed within the city. In 1924 at the time of the flood in this part Illinois, Kickapoo Creek overflowed. Much property and many cattle were destroyed.
Mrs. Geroge Ojemann served as treasurer of some of the area school districts, starting in 1920. His son who retired in 1962 later replaced him. Our present school secretary, Mrs. E. Eileen Biering, worked on financial records with Mr. Ojemann. She often listened to Mr. Ojemann’s story of the growth of school districts, particularly Pleasant Valley. One day Mrs. Bieringer took shorthand notes on this interesting history. “Old Farmington Road, known as Redbud Drive, was known as a stage coach road. The brick home which used to be immediately east of Norwood School was known as the “6 Mile House” and was used as an overnight stop for the stage coach. Pleasant Valley School was District #1 in Peoria County. In 1901 it was changed to #62. Norwood School #2; Central Limestone #3; Limestone Walter #4; and is now #64; Harkers Corners #5, now District #78 and known as Westwood School. There is an old school by the Mohn Coal Mine known as #6 but it later moved to Bartonville and is now #66. North Limestone #7 was the present Limestone PinkertonSchool. Oak Grove was #8, now #68. Pleasant Hill #9 now #69. Hedgerow School was #10, located by the Peoria Airport is now #70 and presently located on Cissna Road and called the Monroe School”.
The oldest records found in Pleasant Valley School at the present time are dated 1936-37 school term. At this time the enrollment was 67; two teachers were employed at a salary of $945 per year, raided to $990 for the following year.
The first special election was November 23,1946, for a bond issued to locate and purchase a new school site. The community voted to buy approximately 4 acres, 366 feet on Farmington Road for $4400. Our original building on this present site, is the fifth Pleasant Valley School building. This building had 4 classrooms, furnace room in basement, boys and girls lavatories, built in 1949 for a cost of $75,000. We found it necessary to have five additions since that time. In 1951, 2 other classrooms and a “lean-to” were finished for $15,000,mostly with donated labor. The third addition was a gymnasium, office and 2 more rooms for $38,000, completed in 1956. Four years late we had outgrown our structure and 3 additional rooms self-contained lavatories, plus a second boiler plant were built for $35,371. Exactly three years later we again needed more space and 6 additional classrooms were built with added toilet families. Our last addition was in 1965 when our gymnasium was enlarged to again its present size. Our kitchen enlarged at this total price $46,164.30. In 1964 a kindergarden program was started and the school entered a joint agreement with other schools to offer opportunities for exceptional children.
As of February 1957, we had a total enrollment of 471 pupils. We projected our future needs and fund that more space was needed. This same years the services of a speech correction teacher were added. We were handicapped for space for this part of our program and the teacher used the kitchen facilities for a classroom. Some of our rooms had maximum enrollment. Our board o education studied these possibilities; Unit District, purchase 4 or lease of portable classrooms, referendum or annexation to District 150, City of Peoria. Solutions and plans were not arrived at quickly.
As land became more expensive this fact did stop development of a large mobile home court on Southport Road know known as Kingspark Mobile Estates. We learned that the Shoff’s Apple Orchard was going to be developed for a second mobile home area. An in depth study of our expansion needs resulted in the realization that our present site was too small. It was deemed by health and zoning authorities that there was insufficient room to enlarge our septic field. We needed to purchase another school site. There were other recommendations: the need to include music, special education, library and a hot lunch program. The purchase of a residential home adjacent to the school served an immediate but interim need. The administrative office and speech services were moved to the “white house”. Here for the first time, each shift of teachers had a designated place to eat lunch sine a duty free lunch hour was legally declared for teachers. Board meetings were held there. Today this building serves as the school’s central office.
Approximately ten wooded acres in the Enchanted Forest were purchase from John Elwood for the sum of $6,000. It was decided to construct the new building with flexibility in design with a style of architecture to harmonize with the wooded area on three sides. A bond issue of $225,00 was defeated in December 1968, February 1969, and by only 40 votes in October 1969.
Community involvement resulted in a successful vote in February 1971. The school district received one of four awards at a convention of the Illinois Association of School Boards and Administrators for “innovative elementary school design” and for its excellent architectural design for a sloping site. The new administrative building and a four classroom module on Elwood Drive were occupied on January 29.1972. First and second grades were housed here.
Each room was designed with it one outside entrance with connecting doors between the rooms. Newer methods of teaching with newer school architectural innovations startled some early visitors. They saw instead of the traditional classroom a most functional classroom with carpeted floors, cathedral ceiling, fewer windows, and no teachers desk as the focal point. It was decided to have he design of this school in keeping with the philosophy of the district—that the school must provide the best educational advantages possible with the realization that all children of any age level do not achieve the same results at the same time. Responsible leaders worked diligently to incorporate this concept into functional buildings. Enough space was allowed here for additional modules as needed.
Enrollment information with statistics taken on our 6th attendance day tells the growth story of our schools.
1951-52
133 pupils4 teachers
133 pupils4 teachers1961-6225210
252101971-7247318 Plus speech, supt., clerk, secretary
47318 Plus speech, supt., clerk, secretary1975-7646722 Includes P.E., speech, music, and special ed
46722 Includes P.E., speech, music, and special edIn 1962-1963 Pottstown joined us, 29 tuition pupils @$345 per capita cost.
Pleasant Valley has had active P.T. A. organizations. This district can boast of having had three State District Directors from our community. This group has contributed greatly to school support.
In earlier years the salaries offered to teachers here were lower than in other schools. There was considerable teacher turn-over. During the past ten years this situation has changed considerable. Pleasant Valley School has a good salary schedule and turn-over is at a minimum. 1970, the first time on record for Pleasant Valley School, two teachers retired from the system. To date four teachers have retired from here after long teaching careers. As the 1975-1976 school year begins there are 25 full time and 7 part time employees.
Compiled by Mabel J. Clause in 1976
Peoria Historical Society Collection
Bradley University
School on Elwood Dr. built in 1972
4623 W. Red Bud Dr. (formerly Farmington Rd.)
Original building on this present site, is the fifth Pleasant Valley School building. This building had 4 classrooms, furnace room in basement, boys and girls lavatories, built in 1949 for a cost of $75,000. We found it necessary to have five additions since that time. In 1951, 2 other classrooms and a “lean-to” were finished for $15,000,mostly with donated labor. The third addition was a gymnasium, office and 2 more rooms for $38,000, completed in 1956. Four years later in 1960 we had outgrown our structure and 3 additional rooms self-contained lavatories, plus a second boiler plant were built for $35,371. Exactly three years later (1963) we again needed more space and 6 additional classrooms were built with added toilet families. Our last addition was in 1965 when our gymnasium was enlarged to again its present size. Our kitchen enlarged at this total price $46,164.30.
3314 W. Richwoods Ave.
