City/Town: • Vernon |
Location Class: • School |
Built: • 1925 | Abandoned: • 1960's |
Status: • Abandoned • Endangered |
Photojournalist: • Michael Schwarz • Emily Cowan |
Before the current Rural Vernon School, there was just Vernon High School, presumably built in the mid-1910s. School lunches at the school cost around 2 1/2 cents which would run you about 44 cents in today’s money. It was a three-year state-approved high school with qualified teachers providing penmanship, typewriting, commercial arithmetic, sewing, and agriculture classes. The first graduate of Vernon High School was Anna Brat in 1920, she was later that year expected to become a teacher.
Eventually, with the growing number of students in 1925, the Rural High School of Vernon Kansas was established. Members of the board were W.O. Shaw, W.H. Brewer and A.J. Baxter working with Architect Fred S. Hopper and Contractor Fred Fordes. A baseball club was started and games were organized based on who wrote in to the Superintendent challenging the team. A boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were assembled as well and incredibly talented. Presumably, around the 1960swhen the population of the small town and surrounding towns started to decline the Rural High School was no longer needed as schools started to consolidate and students would be bussed to bigger towns.
Gallery Below of Vernon School
“1 Jan 1920, 8 – The Neosho Falls Post at Newspapers.com.” Newspapers.com, www.newspapers.com/image/477890220/?terms=vernon%2Bhigh%2Bschool.
“1 Jul 1920, 1 – Woodson County Journal at Newspapers.com.” Newspapers.com, www.newspapers.com/image/484330652/?terms=vernon%2Bhigh%2Bschoo.
“3 Apr 1925, 1 – The Neosho Falls Post at Newspapers.com.” Newspapers.com, www.newspapers.com/image/477842851/?terms=vernon%2Bhigh%2Bschool.
“30 Nov 1917, 1 – Woodson County Advocate at Newspapers.com.” Newspapers.com, www.newspapers.com/image/478325750/?terms=vernon%2Bhigh%2Bschool.
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I hauled hay out in Vernon for years across the road. That building has no back and has been a grain bin for over 30 years
My mother graduated from eighth grade there
Do you happen to know if they had a mascot? What was it if they did?