Highland Park in Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Mattocks School

Photographed by McGhiever, May 31, 2023

1. Mattocks School Marker

Inscription. When this small limestone school was completed in 1871, it stood on Randolph Avenue at Snelling Avenue, and the area it served was outside the city limits of St. Paul. Not until 1887 when Reserve Township was annexed to the city did the school become a part of the St. Paul system.

The pioneer schoolhouse, with its gray limestone walls twenty inches thick, was built at a cost of $1,800. It contained one room with desks for thirty children and a continuous blackboard along the walls. Its square bell tower is about forty feet from the ground.

When it was completed, it was named "Webster School Number 9." In 1887 its name was changed to "Mattocks School" in honor of the Reverend John Mattocks, a prominent Presbyterian clergyman who was secretary of the board of education and ex officio superintendent of St. Paul's schools.

The building served as the educational center for much of the Highland Park district until 1922. It was then used for special classes until 1929, and for some thirty years after that it was maintained by an American Legion post. It was moved from its original location to this site in 1964.

Erected 1966

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

by City Planning Board of St. Paul.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1871.

Location. 44° 54.637′ N, 93° 10.036′ W. Marker is in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in Ramsey County. It is in Highland Park. It is on Snelling Avenue south of Montreal Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 975 Snelling Avenue S, Saint Paul MN 55116, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Explore Your Mississippi (approx. 0.8 miles away); Wetlands (approx. 0.8 miles away); Crosby Farm (approx. 0.9 miles away);

Mattocks School and Marker, now standing between Highland Park Middle and Senior High Schools image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, May 31, 2023

2. Mattocks School and Marker, now standing between Highland Park Middle and Senior High Schools

Prairies (approx. 0.9 miles away); Floodplain Forests (approx. 0.9 miles away); The West End Landscape / The Changing West End Landscape (approx. one mile away); De Dakod Makoce Unkitawapi E E (approx. 1.2 miles away); The Lay of the Land (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Saint Paul.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 4, 2023, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 1,151 times since then and 98 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 4, 2023, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.