Mantorville in Dodge County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Normal School
Photographed by McGhiever, October 3, 2025
1. Normal School Marker
Mantorville schools began teacher training or normal training in 1913. Young women, having completed at least three years of high school, could prepare for teaching in rural schools through this type of program. Often Normal Schools evolved into institutions of higher learning, such as University of Minnesota Mankato, Winona State University, and St. Cloud State University. They were first called Normal Schools because it was here that the "norms" or standards of teaching were established and taught. When the Kasson-Mantorville School District was formed in 1956, the building was converted into a garage for the school van. The west wall was torn down and a bi-fold garage door was inserted. It was fondly called "The Bus Barn".
The school district deeded this building to the Mantorville Restoration Association in 2010 when the school building next door was sold to a private party.
The MRA assembled the same artisans who had restored the Log House to preserve and restore the limestone, re-point the mortar, and rebuild the west wall. The windows, doors, and roof have all been replaced with period correct structures.
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The Bell Tower was built in 2018 by the Mantorville Restoration Association (MRA) to house the bell from the original Mantorville school, built in 1869. The Mantorville School was situated in what is now the parking lot of the Dodge County Administration Building. It was torn downt o make way for a new school building in the 1920s.
The bell, which was cast in 1860, was found and saved by Tom Ferry, a founding member of the MRA, sometime in the 1970s. The cornerstone of the Bell Tower is also from the 1869 school. When a second new school was built in the 1920's that original corner stone was placed in the new "Gym". The 1920 school was town down in 2014 to accommodate the building of the Courthouse Annex.
While you are here at the Bell Tower, make sure you ring the bell.
Erected by the Mantorville Restoration Association.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
Photographed by McGhiever, October 3, 2025
2. Normal School, Marker, and Bell Tower
Location. 44° 4.207′ N, 92° 45.395′ W. Marker is in Mantorville, Minnesota, in Dodge County. It is at the intersection of Clay Street and 8th Street W., on the right when traveling north on Clay Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 800 Clay Street, Mantorville MN 55955, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Minnesota and in Greater Rochester. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land and also the territory of the Mississippian Culture.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 1869 School Bell and Cornerstone (a few steps from this marker); Gold Star Families Memorial Monument (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Dodge County Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Restoration House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Log House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hubbell House (approx. Ό mile away); Mantorville Brewery (approx. Ό mile away); Zumbro Watershed (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mantorville.
Also see . . . Normal School & Bell Tower (QR code on marker). (Submitted on February 7, 2026, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 127 times since then and 83 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 9, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
