The Nesbit (Mize) School #50

Pictured: Nesbit-Mize School #50

    The Nesbit-Mize School was started in 1860 after a school meeting on November 26, 1859.  At this meeting, a site was selected and a 16 foot square building was authorized at a cost of $50 or less.  The location for the schools was in Section 32, in Dorchester Township off of Catholic Springs Road.

    

Pictured: Map for Bunker Hill area country Schools

    March 11, 1860, Miss Mary Sinclair, the first teacher, was paid $24 a month.  The district boarded the teacher if the family had no children in school.  The family received $2.00/$2.50 per week for boarding.

    In 1870, Benjamin Mize repaired the school for $40 for replacing glass and sealing the windows, patching the plaster and preparing the walls for painted blackboards.  Wood for heating the schools was provided by the parents.  The teacher was paid $30 at this time.

    In 1882, a new schoolhouse was built by G.W. Mize at a cost of $80.  Waste materials salvaged from the old school, built a fence for $8.  Members of the Mize family served for many years on the Nesbit-Mize School Board of Directors.  The school was sold at auction on July 8, 1950 to William Cooper and torn down for lumber.

Some of the many families who attended Nesbit-Mize Schools were: Mize, Sawyer, Tiek, Kurlhaum, Throne, Coatney, Wood, and Landers.

...Read more about this and other Bunker Hill, IL historical stories at https://bunkerhillhistory.org/

--Cite this story: The Bunker Hill IL Historical Society. "A Look Back in Bunker Hill History." Bunker Hill Gazette-News, December 31, 2020. 

Redford, Carol, and Betty Triplett. "Bunker Hill History." In Reflections: A History of the Bunker Hill-Woodburn Area, p. 100. Bunker Hill: Bunker Hill Publications, 1993. Provided by the Bunker Hill Historical Society.