Sherburne History Center Blog

  While researching a general topic of education in Sherburne County, a greater understanding of the architecture of schoolhouses emerged.   By this I suggest that searching for details of the large, brick, near-monumental schools in Sherburne County reveals an interesting pattern.   The best known of the large schools in Sherburne County resides in Elk River.   In 1883, fire destroyed the Elk River school.   A fire resistant, brick building replaced the destroyed structure.   A two-story edifice, a school for all grades opened its doors.   This building is the first of the large, semi-permanent edifices that pre-dates education reform and expands the possibilities for education in Sherburne County.   First brick schoolhouse in Elk River pre-1900 The first graduating class of this new Elk River school matriculated in 1888.   Eleven years later, in 1899 the state of Minnesota advanced education in Sherburne County.   That year, the Sc...

  March being Women’s History Month it seemed appropriate to start off the month noting a significant settler and educator from Sherburne County: Grace Craig.   Grace Craig circa 1940 Born in 1865 in the family homestead in Orrock Township, Grace Craig lived with her parents, two sisters and a brother.   According to a brief biography, Grace Craig lived at the homestead for her entire life.   To a certain degree her education developed through her own initiative.   As a teenager, the biography maintains, she obtained the skills for Sunday School teaching through a correspondence course.   While teaching, for fifty-eight years, at two Sunday Schools around Orrock and Snake River, she also upheld the responsibilities as local superintendent.   In addition to her work on the farm and at the local churches, she also served as the Orrock Township correspondent and reporter for the Elk River Star News.             ...

  With the end of the 2020 elections, an interesting letter in the archival collections of the Sherburne History Center warrants some discussion. As background information, the 19 th amendment granting women the right to vote in national elections passed in August 1920.   Prior to the approval of the 19 th Amendment, in Minnesota, women voted in some local elections.   Of particular interest, women voted in elections concerning local school boards.   This makes sense when we realize a responsibility of all women concerned the education of children.   This belief extends back into the 1800s. In a letter sent to concerned citizens of Clear Lake, Sherburne County, Assistant Attorney General Montreville J. Brown reaffirmed the right of women to vote in local school board issues.   His only caveat to this voting right being that women must be residents of the district in question and “they are of the age twenty-one years and upward and possess the qualific...

With the current discussions of disease and quarantine, the condition of schools and student attendance, I am encouraged to look back in the history of Sherburne County and explore the development of schools in the area.   It quickly becomes obvious; education played an important role in early Sherburne County.   Elk River school, circa 1900   As early as 1869, Elk River witnessed construction of a brick school, with multiple classrooms.   This was not simply the one-room schoolhouse similar to those scattered around the county.   This was a true school with several teachers and separate classes for students based on grade level.   In 1876, the County Commission set aside specific township sections to benefit education in Sherburne County. The idea originates with federal law, mandating sections of land be set aside for education, the actions of the commission, however, reinforce the importance of teaching county children. In 1883, e...

A recent photograph published on the internet, generated a variety of questions regarding the location and history of Meadow Vale.   We will make an effort to provide more details about life in the area known as Meadow Vale, possibly fill in some details about the community   Meadow Vale was originally a farming community located in the north west corner of Elk River township.   For individuals looking at a map, consider section 6 of township 33, range 26, with some overlap into section 31, township 34, range 26.   Meadow Vale Schoolhouse Perhaps the most common photograph associated with the community continues to be the image of District 28 schoolhouse (references vary, some research refers to the school as District 18).   The school, along with the nearby church, served as the community centers for Meadow Vale.   Still later, the local Grange Hall also acted as a community gathering place.    Memories of the community, written...

The lyrics from a Perry Como Christmas song keep running through my head, “Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.”   My thoughts turn to schools in Sherburne County; the large consolidated schools such as Handke School in Elk River; and the many small, one-roomed school houses in the county.   Although the larger communities of Elk River and Big Lake offered large well-established schools.   The majority of students in early Sherburne County attended one-roomed school houses.   Until the 1960s, one-roomed schools served an important role in education in Sherburne County.   In fact, from 1854 to 1969, more than 50 one-roomed schools taught children in Sherburne County.   Many of these schools educated 25 students each year, grades one through eight.   How they operated and functioned is a story better told in volumes.   Some of the memories, however, are worth recording here.   Haven Township school circa 1905 Many of...

With the arrival of autumn, it seemed appropriate to turn our attention to school and education.  We found two photos of schools for Sherburne History we wanted to share.  the top photo is the meadow vale schoolhouse dated around 1885.  The second photo is a more recent building of learning, Elk River school around 1900.  Both can be found in the collections at the Sherburne History Center.

This past week Independent School District 728, the district encompassing Elk River, commemorated the 85 anniversary of the opening of the Elk River High School.  Rather than honor the building and its years of service, I thought it more important to explore the life of one truly dedicated and interesting educator: Robert Handke.             Hired as superintendent of the Elk River Schools in 1925, Robert Handke served for 30 some years as the leader of Elk River education.  Under his watch, Elk River High School, the current Handke Center housing community education, was built.  The brick monument of today replaced a smaller school described by the Elk River Star News as “a 50 year old frame building pitifully overcrowded and already waiting for fire and safety inspectors to declare it unsafe.” Elkhi Stadium, the location for the first organized hockey in Elk River, along with baseball and football were buil...