Washington Township School No. 6: Washington Center
Business Hours:
By Appointment
Phone:
641-483-3002 During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is estimated that 75% of Iowa students were educated in one-room schools. Today we refer to them as “country” schools. Back then they had names such as Bear Grove, Quail Trap, or Washington Center. The number of one-room schools in Iowa peaked at 12,623 in 1901, more than in any other state. Marshall County peaked at 141 schools.
In 1869 an acre of land located one mile south of the present Marshall County Jail, which was then the County Poor Farm, was deeded to the Washington Township School District for a school site. This became the building site for Washington School No. 6. A building of similar architectural design was constructed for Washington School No. 2 in LaMoille in 1870. Washington Township School No. 6, then called Washington Center, was one of ten schools that made up the Washington Township School District.
Washington School No. 6 served as a school until 1920 when the students began attending the LaMoille Consolidated School District, formed in 1914. The land and school were sold to Washington Township in 1921. The Washington School No. 6 building continued to serve the people of Washington Township as a community center and voting site until 1980. In 2001 the building was acquired by the State Center Historical Society and in 2003 was moved to its current location on the grounds of the Gutekunst Public Library on State Center’s Main Street.
The State Center Historical Society operates the Washington Center Schoolhouse as a Museum. It is available for touring by appointment. Admission is free and available by calling 641-483-2458, 641-483-2110, or 641-483-3002 to make an appointment.