Chapter 35 cont. EARLY SCHOOL LOCATIONS In 1859 the school law was amended providing for the election of three directors who in connection with the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer should constitute the school board. At the first election A. S. Maxwell was elected president; E. Peck, vice president; Thomas J. Saunders, secretary; George H. French, treasurer; directors, J. M. Frizzell, one year, Robert Means, two years, and Ignatius Langer, three years. The second director resigned and Judge Grant was elected to fill the vacancy. The original location of School No. 1, now known as the Washington school, was Mound and Eddy streets, where a frame building accommodated the children of the village of East Davenport, until the erection of the brick structure on its present location, Fulton and Mississippi avenues, in 1865. No. 2 school, now the Adams school originally occupied the lower floor of a two story frame house on Fourth and Perry. This building was erected by a Mr. Prescott for a private school in 1843. He went to the timber for his oak which was either hewed or sawed at the Duck Creek mill. In 1853 and 1854 a stone school house was erected at the corner of Seventh and Perry streets. It is still in good condition, although not at this time is use. This building cost $8,000 and was considered in those days a triumph of architecture. Wilkie in his "Davenport, Past and Present" published in 1858, speaks in high praise of its power to accommodate pupils and mentions the commodious living quarters for the principal situated in the basement. The first house occupied by old School No. 3, now the Jefferson school, was a little frame building on the northeast corner of Fifth and Scott streets. This was in 1853. There were probably about thirty pupils. here Webster's blue backed spelling book was used for first lessons in reading. In 1855 the school was moved to Third street, south side, between Gaines and Brown streets. From there another move in 1856-57 was made to Sixth and Warren streets, where a urgency for the use of this building that a room was fitted up for occupancy in the southeast corner before the remainder of the building was completed. Hiram Price, school fund commissioner for Scott county, was the recipient of a petition in the spring of 1855, signed by the voters of North Davenport for the creation of a new school district. District No. 17 resulted. A lot was donated by James McIntosh situated between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets and between Main and Harrison streets. On this lot was built a one-story brick building of small dimensions, but adequate for the time. Later an upper story was added and later still, a frame building was purchased by the board, moved to the lot and attached on the north side of the brick building, thus arranging for a three room school. Here the school remained until a large brick building was erected in 1865 just north of the old school, on the location of No. 4, the Madison school, Main and Locust streets. The predecessor of School No. 5, the Monroe school, was a little stone building at Second and Pine streets, built about 1855, where the school remained until the erection of the present sightly building in 1868. The earliest school in district No. 11, afterwards No. 6, now Jackson school, was on the Doser farm, just west of the present Rock Island crossing of Locust street. It was a one-room frame building of such dilapidation that the children were compelled to crowd into the corners for protection from the elements. Here the school remained until 1858, when it was transferred to a new two-room frame building situated on a lot which the board had purchased on Union street, between Mitchell and Washington streets. Later two rooms were added, and still later two additional rooms, making it a six room building. In 1893 the old frame building gave place to a thoroughly modern brick schoolhouse of eight rooms, erected on the same lot. In 1902 more room being imperatively needed, the school board purchased another lot adjoining the property on the west and erected a four room addition, making it a twelve room building. Debbie Clough Gerischer Iowa Gen Web, Assistant CC, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ IAGENWEB: Special History Project: http://iagenweb.org/history/index.htm Gerischer Family Web Site: http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/