They have so much charm even for those who never attended school in a one-room building. The old-fashioned schoolhouses often had a stove right in the middle or upfront to keep the kids warm on cold days. Sometimes there was a chalkboard on the wall, but often there was not. The small rural communities that used these schools were soon too overcrowded for such small quarters in the 20th century, especially once compulsory education laws ensured that all children attended school the whole school year.

These one-room schoolhouses were also used for other community activities as well – like town meetings and sometimes the buildings were also used for church services. The 1930s and 1940s was the last time that many of these schools were attended by children, though a few lingered on in rural areas where there weren’t enough families to warrant building a multi-grade school.

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