Acme School

Acme School was located approximately 1.1 miles further east from this pocket park on Glen Crossing Road. Built in 1910, Acme School was a model of new architecture for school houses., From a 1912 article in the Edwardsville Intelligencer:, The Acme School may fairly be said to the "latest word" in the line of county school building, in that it represents the most advanced ideas in point of architecture, in convenience, and in many other respects, in the evolution of the rural school from the ancient log hut but represented by some of the first homes of educational work in Madison County. A few words in the way of explaining how the Acme School came to be built will be of special interest. , The school building bearing this name is in the Barnsback settlement in Edwardsville Township, near the former location of what was called the Elm Grove School. The people, mostly well-to-do Bohemians, wanted a new school house and a delegation of citizens came to Edwardsville to discuss the matter with Superintendent J.H. Unsell. They knew what they wanted, but didn't know just how to go about getting their ideas into concrete form in the shape of a school building. They wanted to get as far away as possible from the old time log hut, the somewhat later square box frame, and even away from what had come to be called "the little red school house" but at the same time they did not want to invest a very large amount of money in a building too pretentious both requirements and the means of the patrons of the school. , After some consultation and expressions of ideas and opinions, Superintendent Unsell drew up a sort of tentative sketch of a structure keeping in view the ideas of the maximum of convenience, the best ventilation and light as nearly as in keeping with advanced ideas of school building, and at the same time the minimum of cost. These plans were discussed and modified somewhat as they were examined and the outcome was the building that was erected on what may be called the plan of architecture., The building is of frame, one story high, and so constructed as to present the general appearance of a cottage dwelling or bungalow with harsh lines of shape and construction softened by attention to details. Though there is only main room, the style of architecture is such as to do away entirely with ugly box like appearance. A handsome entrance leads to the main school room and opening off the room, through an archway is a library, with a separation partition or door. A cloak room is separated from the main room. , The plans for this school were prepared and the building construction in 1910, when the time came for the dedication of the pretty new school building, a name was wanted. There was a general desire expressed for something new in the way of a name for a rural school, just as there had been for something new in the character of the building. The wish was for something that would be a departure from the custom of naming a school for the locality in which it was placed - something that would rather express the character rather than the mere place., There were many suggestions and there were advocates for each of a dozen or a score of names. These were sifted by a process of elimination, and finally by a vote, the name Acme was selected as best expressing the generally accepted idea of what had been accomplished in supplanting the ancient and unbeautiful style of school building with the pretty structure, and the Acme School it is today.