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Show Old Bell School History Tells of Construction, Use , - .v. JtijinuJfHiiin; tl.iiathllinitt t litlriii.JVn were relieved by the building of a third room on the east. J.L. Harvey, school trustee who supervised construction, con-struction, kept an account book from whose pages much interesting data regarding building procedure, cost, and payment of teachers can be gleaned. From this account book it appears that when funds from tuition did not ; come in soon enough to meet current (Continued on Page 2) i i The old Bell School in the early By LUCILE H. WALKER and HAROLD S. WALKER In April, 1852, Pleasant Grove was made School District No. 5. It included in-cluded all the territory from a point about half-way between American Fork and Pleasant Grove south to the Provo City Corporation lines. Construction of a school house 'began at once. It stood just north of where the Union Pacific railroad now ! crosses highway 91 as it leads out of town west. It was made of adobe. George Clark, Samuel S. White and Thorit Peck, who had marched with the Mormon Battalion through New Mexico, had been quite impressed . with the adobe huts they'd seen and 'had' learned how' td 'make iheni according ac-cording to Howard R. Driggs in !' 'Timpanogos Town. ' ' The adobes were carried by William M. Frampton and were laid up by masons from Salt Lake. A Mr. Lapworth mixed the mortar. Stephen Farnsworth was the carpenter. Since the men of the settlement hauled and isawed the logs, made the adobes and furniture the building cost very little in cash. ' g Oiled paper served as glass for the windows; benches and desks were made of slabs with legs fitted into holes in each end. On extremely cold days one group of pupils stood near (the fireplace to recite their lessons -while the other groups studied at the .desks. The school was opened in December 1852. ' In 1853, following instructions from ' Brigham Young, the settlers built a fort and moved from their homes into the enclosure for better protection From the Indians. Now it was necessary to move the schoolhouse. through concerted action this was accomplished in one day. , Adobes and logs were taken down lid hauled to a lot within the potecting walls of the fort, on property just south of the old Mayhew house, now about 200 South Main. The building faced the street, with a door Opening on the south wall, A bowery i3f branches was built, and together I the school and bowery were used for ihurch, school, and recreation. By iShis time the town population numbered num-bered 290. In 1860 the schoolhouse burned Jown. Until another could be built, r school was held in the meeting house, 1 .1 fine structure that had been erected ' n 1855. For a while, school was held in private homes. .: ili About 1864 the adobes were taken from the burned school to a lot nearer the center of the fort, and there a one-room one-room building was begun. There is disagreement among the old settlers as to the date of its completion, but we have record of "Uncle Alva Farnsworth" Farn-sworth" as he was called, teaching there in 1864. This new school building, made in part from adobes salvaged from the second school, was designed by Henry Greenhalgh, an English architect who had settled in Pleasant Grove. The arched ceiling, and floor with sand between the sleepers for sound deadening, gave the room excellent accoustic qualities, and made it especially good for entertainments. It had a stage across the east end, with curtains that could be hung for programs and dramatics. So it became a community center as well as school. It is the west wing of the building now used as a relic hall by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, and stands on the north side of Pioneer Memorial Park, created by that organization in 1946. In 1880 another room was added to the schoolhouse (now the middle room). It was arranged with a stage in the addition, and sliding doors opening into the west room, where the audience was seated. William H. Adams, assisted by his son Joseph H., laid the adobes. Knud Swenson, school trustee, was overseer of the construction of the new room. In his diary he tells of the successful exercises held there when the new structure was dedicated December 8, 1880. Parents and children filled the room to overflowing. over-flowing. A fine program was presented. From a small belfry on top of the room hung a large bell which called the scholars to school. It also acted as a community fire alarm. This building in later years came to be known as the "Old Bell School." After the completion of this addition, ad-dition, the first four grades met in the west room while the addition housed the upper classes. Rose Brown Hayes, who taught in the west room, told how she had as many as 76 small pupils during the winter months but attendance at-tendance was fewer in the fall and spring when farm work required the help of the older children. About 1888, the crowded conditions .. . (S i 6 "t '.. xv A LAOTIAN COUPLE, Chou Ly and his wife, spoke at a recent Kiwanis meeting M old school, easl side HI. fine'"?1" Sled early of 1893. q.," school as SSMJSJ S0 and called from the bell that hung the belfry over the middl e room still used for many years lor gTdeiS914 the building was sold to ground. The city had deeded to do Lav with" the old building, but the D UP promised to keep it in repair SS'take responsibility for upkeep Pioneer relics were placed in the btiStheD.U.P.wasfena99 vear lease and they made a great Sort to restore the building and grounds for a Pioneer Park ana SeZ Building. The building was covered with white stucco The building was reel. Historical Site in 1946 and dedicated to this effect. V The log cabin was're-r(W other improvements madei S termite control treatment in ,S I in 1973, the SSfl burglanzed and valuabe 1 guns were taken. The titA ,, heavy screens on the winded ) prevent future burglaries The building was used as v $ Osmond film production .JM Great Brain." In 1977 the J repainted the interior of the and built a small porch at S entrance. In 1980 the building was acpK0' the National Register ofT1 Sites. This makes it 'f. receive federal funds matched locally, it ak available expert help h, f relics and displaying adequately. s W This lovely building can bec ' P center of respect and Iovei3 Pioneer Heritage. It symbol f keeps alive for us the strewf ingenuity of these early settS Daughters of Utah Pioneers inw ask that complete support be Jf I their project of trying to L X building up to its potential T community. 1 BeUSchooT (Continued from Front Page) expenses, the trusty loaned the necessary money to tne 'uvinaFugal, who attended Ischool, gives interesting details about i -There was a chart class, and first, second, and third grades. The cnari class was so called because inaction in-action was carried on by means of charts that hung on a ram ; the leaves, like big maps, could be turned over as each was completed From these the pupils learned their A B C s then simple words, always the first 0 which was "cat," later words that rhymed with cat, then other phonetic .families, then sentences like "cat can Tn' the middle room was a bench with a bucket of water and dipper. Children who desired a .drink wuld hold up certain fingers, denoting their need; holding up another finger was a signal to be allowed to go out. To Sen confusion, some teachers appointed monitors who passed a bucket of water, allowing all pupils a chance to drink from the dipper Little was thought of the unsanitary conditions resulting from this drinking from a common cup As population increased, the three room schoolhouse had to be supplemented sup-plemented with another. There was considerable debate about its 1 |