Franklin's Pioneer School House 1860

Franklin's Pioneer School House 1860. . The first school in the new colony was in the home of Hannah Comish, who was the teacher. This was the first white school taught in the State of Idaho. Her home was located on the east side of the fort where she taught about 20 pupils with a three month's term for the first year , Late in the fall of 1860, logs were cut and hauled from Deep Creek Canyon to build a school house that was completed in late spring 1861. The new school building consisted of a single large room with a dirt floor and a large fireplace in the east end. The fireplace was made of soft white sandstone and provided the only source of heat for the log stricture with its sod roof. The building faced west with a door on the end and a single window on each side with a small window near the door. The door of the little building was made of split logs and the little 8 X 10 inch panels of glass were brought in from Salt Lake City. The student benches were made of pine slabs, flat side up with legs of maple or birch. , This school house also served as a meeting house and amusement hall, Each Saturday, straw was removed from the dirt floor and replaced with fresh straw so it would be clean for Sunday. Whenever it rained, the children were excused until the storm was over as the roof was no waterproof. , When the school opened in the fall of 1861, G. Alvin Davy was the teacher. He had about 70 students in attendance. Some of the slates and pencils used in the school came from slate rock found in the mountains east of Franklin. In the first school, there was just one reader for each class and one speller for the entire school so the students would take turns. Tuition was paid to the teacher with any kind of produce or cloth, molasses or meat. In 1863-64, William Woodward taught school and received $40.00 a month, collecting his pay from each pupil, which would have been about .40 cents each.