Miner Grade School
One-room schoolhouses in Illinois date from the 1855 free school law, which gave local townships the incentive to create school districts with elected boards that could levy taxes to support the schools and pay teachers. It is estimated Illinois at one time had more one-room schoolhouses than any other state in the nation—about 12,000. Each district served as many as a dozen families from nearby farms.
In 1885, John Mottes Miner, “brigadier” or foreman of the 40,000 acre Burr Oaks cattle and agricultural empire in present-day Sibley, Illinois, purchased the southwest corner of Section 17 in Sullivant Township, which included school number 4, which had been destroyed by fire. Mr. Miner erected a new frame building on the site, which became known as the Miner Grade School and would operate in that capacity for the next 60 years.
The Miner Grade School served generations of Sullivant and Dix township residents including the Miner, Poplett, Doyle, McKenna, Bonnen, and Dueringer families, whose descendants still reside in Ford County. After John Miner’s death in 1922, the land and school stayed in the family, but the
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The old Miner schoolhouse was purchased by Julia Miner Dueringer, who eventually sold it to the Guthrie Grain Elevator, which moved the building two miles down the road and repurposed it as office space.
Erected 2021 by The Ford County Historical Society, the Dueringer family, and the Illinois State Historical Society.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education. In addition, it is included in the Illinois State Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1885.
Location. 40° 31.808′ N, 88° 19.73′ W. Marker is near Guthrie, Illinois, in Ford County. It is at the intersection of North 700E Road and E 900N Road, on the right when traveling north on North 700E Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Gibson City IL 60936, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Illinois. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere,
Other nearby markers. At least one other marker is within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Ottawa Travel Road (approx. 10.6 miles away).
Regarding Miner Grade School. Next to the marker is the original cast steel school bell, which has been restored. Although it bears no identification, it was almost certainly made by the Blymyer Manufacturing Company of Cincinnati or its successor (in bells), the Cincinnati Bell Foundry Company; the change in the name of the foundry occurred around the time that the Miner Grade School was being constructed.
Additional keywords. school bell
Credits. This page was last revised on July 16, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 7, 2021, by Carl Scott Zimmerman of Kirkwood, Missouri. This page has been viewed 1,102 times since then and 85 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 7, 2021, by Carl Scott Zimmerman of Kirkwood, Missouri. 2. submitted on July 16, 2021, by Jennifer Rafn of Lynchburg, Tennessee. 3. submitted on July 16, 2021, by Carl Scott Zimmerman of Kirkwood, Missouri. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
