Silkville School Dist. No 88

The Silkville School sits on the backroads of Kansas, evidence of a different time, one mostly forgotten. Now when you usually google the Silkville School you come across the town’s history, how a French man by the name of Ernest Valeton de Boissière dreamed of a socialist type community and established the town where he began a silk-making farm.

Now while this history itself is super interesting, you would think there would be more of a focus on the one building left in the desolate borders of Silkville, but there isn’t. I aim to change that, to answer the questions.

The Silkville School first appeared in cataloged newspapers in December of 1880. The excerpt states that Miss Mollie Barker of Richmond came up on the train on the 20th of November and took charge of the Silkville School. The school board visited the school and promised the scholars some needed improvements for their comfort and convenience.

Miss Mary Doolin of Gooseneck Bend joined the school to teach beginning in the spring of 1883. She taught until at least 1885. Mrs. E. McCurdy took over the teaching position from 1887-1890, around this time the school hovered around 20 students. Other teachers included Miss Melvine Grant 1896, Mrs Bether Dana 1898-1900, Blanche Prentis 1903, Miss Lillie Innes 1901 -1905 Miss Lynne Hughs 1904-1906, Miss Cora Rice 1906, Miss Krause -1909, Geo Woodworth 1909, Maude Dennis 1910-, Ethel Welton 1913.

Kids got a different experience at these schools versus the larger public schools today that were birthed from the death of many rural schools. Everyone knew everybody, kids that you grew up with at school you ended up knowing your whole life. Kids rough housed and that was just apart of life. One story tells of a boy named Lloyd Neal, a ten year old at the school that broke his lef while playing “dare base” with his classmates at the Silkville School. In running for the base one of the boys collided with him and fell on his leg. Nearby Dr. Janes was able to set the leg in place and he recovered well.

One of the common things for these rural schoolhouses and the local farmers was to house “Wolf Hunts” now these weren’t really wolves but rather coyotes that terrorized livestock. In 1915 newspapers advertised a few of these wolf hunts. “A wolf drive will be held in the vicinity of Williamsburg next Saturday. The lines will form three miles each way from Silkville school house beginning at 10 o’clock and the roundup will be at the school house. Anybody who wants to have some sport is invited to come and join the ranks. The captains will be M.F. Gretchell and Will Morrow. “There are some real wolves in this vicinity and there will be sport enough in this drive,” G.L. Hettick said. The hunts helped keep kids safe as well as cattle and other livestock. But furthermore, it was a tradition, an excuse for people to get together for a cause.

But unfortunately, by the nineteen-teens, the total number of students had dwindled to about 10 and the SIlkville community was dying. The district held a meeting in 1916 and voted not to hold school in the building the following year. A levy was made so that those within the community could transfer and attend Williamsburg School.

It wasn’t until 1921 after it was completely solidified that there was no hope of bringing the school back, that a public auction was held of the building, contents and grounds. Miss Ellen Larson, the county superintendent conducted the sale. The school and acre of land it sat on sold to Elmer Stinebaugh of Princeton for $175. Other bidders were after the schooling equipment with most of it going to Dist. 51, total the sale brought $310.

It was to be used for hay storage, which it has remained for around a hundred years. It still sits abandoned and decaying, as the last building left of the disappearing town of Silkville, Kansas.

Gallery Below of Silkville School

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