Smalleytown and Pleasant Hill Schools

Pictured: Smalleytown School in 1900's 

Smalleytown School #162

Smalleytown School was located on Miles Station Road, Bunker Hill Township in Section #3.

In 1906, Mrs Frances (Smalley) Pennington was the teacher and she had 24 students and her salary was $40 per month.

Pictured: Smalleytown School Class (circa 1906 or 1907)

Front row: Lester Smith, Frank Smith, Lydia Heal Dey, Billy Bort, Bertha Peters Stammer, Goldie Peters Rull, Bessie Marston.

Middle row: Lester Heal, Henry Smith, Mildred Wood Lloyd, Beulah Barnes Olmsted, Elsie Bort Schaller, Ferna Jacobi, Della Peters Buhs, Annie Bort.

Back row: Chester Kehr, Harry Jones, Rose Peters Penning, Van Jacobi, Francis Smalley Pennington (teacher), Oliver Marston, Viva Wood Leggett, Milton Jacobi.

In 1919, Edith Pyle was the teacher and she had five students.  Edith Pyle received $50 per month.

In 1921, Charles F. Keirle was the teacher and he had five students.  Mr. Keirle received $75 per month.

In 1922, Mrs. Gladys Smith was the teacher and she had six students.  She received $75 per month.

In 1944-45, the school had a radio and warm lunch programs heated on an electric plate.  The last annual report was 1947-48 and the last teacher was Mrs. Laura Snedeker.  When the school closed, the students had a choice of where to go.  Three girls chose Woodburn School and the three boys went to Bunker Hill.

Some of the many families who attended Smalleytown Schools were Olmsted, Howald, Pennington, Barnes, Bort, Jacobi, McCurdy, Heal, and Brummer.

Pictured: Map for Bunker Hill area Country Schools

Pictured: Pleasant Hill School #165

Pleasant Hill School #165

Pleasant Hill School was located in Bunker Hill Township in Section #26.  Today, that is Rust Road.

In 1907-08, Mary Aveiss, teacher, had 25 students and received #35 per month.  The tuition for each student per month was $1.40.  In Mary Aveiss' teachers report, she stated that the blackboards needed repairing badly.  Chicken pox and bad roads had a lot to do with the poor attendance.  The schoolhouse is very much in need of repair.  I, with the help of a 12-year old boy, built a little porch to keep the mud at least a short distance from the door.

In 1920-21, Chester Kehr was the teacher.  There were 15 students and Mr. Kehr received $85 per month.

In 1924-25, Miss Claribel Seim was the teacher.  She had 13 students and received $74 per month.  The school director was Anton Bruckert.

Some of the many families that attended Pleasant Hill School throughout the years were Rust, Haneghan, Zarges, Sauerwein, Goebel, Bunte, Enke, Ladenforf, Bixen, Bruckert, Duelm, Goodwin, Foreman, Altevogt, and Moulton.

Pictured: 1918 Pleasant Hill School Class

...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, February 25, 2021. 

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.