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Oak Hill School District No. 41

Source: ©1992 Northwest Arkansas Morning News; Back Roads by Billie Jines, July 26, 1992.

If this column were a debate, its subject would be: "resolved, that Oak Hill School District No. 41 was the successor to Rogers' first school, Horsley School."

In the 1991 Benton County History, Joe Mathias wrote: "At the time of the founding of Rogers, it is agreed that the only public school in the district was a county school known as Horsley located on Highway 71 at the corner of Dixieland Road."

Since the county in the earlier years of public schools listed them only by district number, it was not possible in this story to prove that Oak Hill was Horsley's successor - they both have had the same number, for instance. However, both served the same area, although the schoolhouses for the two were several blocks apart. It often happened that when a second schoolhouse was built for a district, a new site was used within the district.

The land area first assigned to Oak Hill District 41 was farm land, much of it in orchards and other fruit. With today's street and highway names and numbers, it would be described this way: Starting north from Arkansas 94 East, the Oak Hill District began at Olrich Street and continued northward on both sides of 71 to Arkansas 102. Turning there, it went west to 40th Street, south to New Hope Road, eastward to 15th and there it turned northward to Olrich and back to Highway 71.

Today, that district would include much of Rogers, including Dixieland Mall, St. Mary's-Rogers Memorial Hospital and many other establishments and streets and homes. Back in its origin, however, Oak Hill District was completely outside the City of Rogers. The Rogers School District took in part of Oak Hill District, and, eventually, all of it.

No doubt, District No. 41 was one of the original districts established by the county court. Its number at first was 68, but in 1876, the districts were renumbered and it became No. 41. That was five years before the City of Rogers was born.

The schoolhouse, which still exists today, stood at what now are Oak and 28th Streets. After school no longer was held there, the schoolhouse became the Oak Hill Grange Hall. Two alumni of Oak Hill, Cecil Wood and Edith Kunz (Hefner), described the schoolhouse as a one-room structure with a concrete front porch, two front doors and one rear door, and with a woodshed and two outhouses at the rear. The well with a pump was in the school yard, too.

Some teachers mentioned in records include Ira B. Swearingen in 1912-13. He drew $50 a month for the seven-month term. There was a five-month term in 1916, and the teacher drew $50 a month. The first warrant was made out to Mrs. Mary Gholson, three to Mrs. Mary Gordon, and the last one to J.B. Gordon. H.F. Davis taught the 1917-18 term of seven months, and was paid $65 a month. That was the era of the great flu epidemic, and the board paid Dr. C.A. Rice $11.75, probably for vaccinations.

In 1919-20, Norma McGinty drew $65 a month to teach the seven-month term. Records depict but three warrants issued to the teacher, W.H. Grigg, for the 1920-21 term. This could have been because he was being paid $85 a month and thus the board ran short of funds, or it could have been that he did teach the full seven-month term for which he was contracted and faulty bookkeeping caused the record to be incomplete. One recorded list shows Marion Barnes to have taught the 1923 term, and Fred Allred the 1924 year.

Cecil Wood and Edith Kunz Hefner took their elementary schooling together at Oak Hill and were the only two eighth grade graduates in 1930. Teachers that they recall were Mrs. Dora Riddle, Ira Swearingen, Fred Allred, Miss Barnes, Polly Crain and Mrs. Blanche Hubbard. Mrs. Hefner recalls that Mrs. Riddle earlier had taught in a reformatory, possibly in Kansas. She impressed the students at Oak Hill about how fortunate they were to be in a public school by relating for them how students were handled at the reformatory. Students at the reformatory had to walk with one hand on the shoulder of the one ahead of them, and in some cases had hobbles on their legs.

Mrs. Hefner and her brother, Eddie Kunz, rode to Oak Hill School each morning with Mrs. Riddle. She drove a horse and buggy and would stop for them. All the way from the first through the eighth grade, Mrs. Hefner was the only girl in her class.

She looks back at good times in the Oak Hill Community and school district. There were the school programs and plays, the pie suppers and box suppers held to gather funds for school needs, and the way the men of the community succeeded in getting the county to provide funds and equipment and the Oak Hill men provided the labor to build bridges needed in areas of the community. Her parents, Peter and Cora Kunz, both were musically talented. Her father would play the accordion or French harp and her mother the piano, at school and community functions. Mrs. Hefner now is a retired teacher, having taught music at the Lowell and Garfield Schools simultaneously from 1959 to 1978.

Cecil Wood was born and reared only one-fourth mile from the Oak Hill School. His older brother, Ralph Wood, and younger sister, Lora Wood (Lyons), also went to Oak Hill.

When Cecil Wood and Edith Kunz graduated at Oak Hill, it was the era when Benton County schools still were holding joint graduation ceremonies and festivities. Oak Hill students went to Droke School for the day. There were several other schools on hand, too. Edith won the arithmetic competition and the 50-yard dash, and was thus eligible to enter the county-wide competition the next summer. F.A. Wood was county school superintendent than and took a big interest in such events. He told Edith that he felt the judges should have given the arithmetic award on accuracy and neatness rather than speed. In such a case, he said, she would have won the county contest.

A couple of years ago, we spoke to 100-year-old Lorene Ragsdale at Rogers Nursing Home, where she still lives today. She told me that her husband, the late William Baxter Ragsdale, got to attend Oak Hill when he was 13 in 1901. The family had just moved here from Texas County, Mo. His youngest brother, Frank, and sister, Nellie, were born here and apparently went all the way through the eight grades at Oak Hill. The others, Arthur, Rose and Charlie, also apparently attended Oak Hill at least some of the years left before they completed the eighth grade. William Baxter Ragsdale became a full-time minter of the Church of Christ, a profession he followed until five years before his death at the age of 91.

Oak Hill District No. 41 and its neighbor to the west, Droke School District No. 42, attempted in March 1920 to join together to form a rural special school district. The county even set the election date. Then, on April 2, 1920, the county court minutes read as follows:

"In the Matter of forming a Rural Special School District composed of the territory embraced in common school districts No's 41 and 42. S.H. Shelton Et Al Petitioners, Pltf. vs J.R. Brandon, Et Al Contestee's, Defdt. On this day this cause comes on to be heard, and by consent of all parties hereto, said cause is dismissed, the Petitioner's paying all cost."

At the same meeting, however, County Judge Joe Beasley, upon petition of J.R. Brandon and 19 other legal voters residing in the District 41 territory, ordered that an election beheld at Oak Hill to see about forming a special school district for the Oak Hill territory. The election results were not recorded, but obviously the voters approved, for after that it was the Oak Hill Rural Special School District. Droke did likewise, but separately for its district.

However, on March 12, 1921, the Rogers School District also created a Special School District. This resulted in the Rogers District taking in more than half of the land area that originally had belonged to Oak Hill. It was the area bordering Rogers' western border. This left Oak Hill District with a total of about four sections of land. Apparently earlier, sometime before that, a half-section had gone in the northwest corner of Oak Hill District to Jefferson District and another portion in the north of the district went to Little Flock.

Finally, on Oct. 27, 1944, a petition was filed with the County School Supervisor containing the names of a majority of the qualified voters in Oak Hill School District No. 41 requesting that the territory belonging to Oak Hill District be added to and made a permanent part of Rogers District No. 30. It was so ordered by the county.

Today, driving through the vastly expanded City of Rogers that now takes in the Oak Hill School District, it is difficult to imagine that the area once was a rural farming community.

TAX PAYERS Those paying personal property taxes in the Oak Hill School District in 1890 were G.W. Bacon, C.M. Baker, Mrs. M. Baker (Guard), Charles Cotrill, Charles H.W. Coghill, J.W. Coghill, L.H. Coghill, Wilson Coghill, J.L. Derreberry, W.B. Field, Able Godard, Spooner Godard, W.M. Glass, C.S. Head, J.W. Haynes, James Johnson, F.L. Johnson, J.H. Kelton, Marion Koons, W.H. Lane, B. Lucas, M.B. Lane, H.G. McGarlin, S.C. McSpadden, T.A. McSpadden, W.H. McFarland, W.M. Morgan, T.N. McFarland, J.H. McFarland, W.J. Oakley, W.A. Oldham, J.W. Phillips, A.S. Parker, M.S. Rozar, W.H. Saunders, F.B. Saunders, H.W. & Mrs. M. Stroud, Geo. E. Wilson, J.P. Wood and C.E. Smith.

BOARD MEMBERS Serving at least one term on the school board of District No. 41 between 1889 and 1928 were G.E, Wilson, C.E. Smith, H.G. McFarlin, Abe Godard, J.A. Rouse, Frank E. Robinson, Milton McSpadden, F.E. Robinson, Bert Hernminger (?), J.W. Watkins, Abe Godard, R.H. Deason, J.R. Brandon, A. Godard, Geo. Sly, T.J. Woods, F.M. Hankins, O.S. Bradford, Harvey Wood, F.M. Hawkins, J.P. White, Peter Kunz (?), W.C. Russell, Pete King and E.C. Stearns.

GRADUATES Names of those listed as graduates of Oak Hill School for some years are the following:
1918-19 - Oleta Anderson, Ethel Wood, Gladys Allen and Wanona German
1921-22 - Irene Wood, Herbert Hawkins, Otto Murr, Wayne Brandon, Willard Marlow, Charlie Brandon and Lloyd White.
1923-24 - Vada Mae Haynes
1924-25 - Darwin Allred, Ralph Wood, Harry Cook, Kenneth Doescher (or Dolscher), Carl Doescher/Dolscher, and Lorraine German
1925-26 - Muriel McFarland, Elmer Russell, Willard Stearnes, Ruth White and Norton Sly
1928-29 - Russell Brandon and Leroy Bateman
1929-30 - Cecil Wood and Edith Kunz
1931-23 - Clarence Marlow, Bernice Bradford and Fred Rakes
1943-44 - Gordon Lee Ruddick, Mary Ann Keck, Dorene Marlow and Betty Ann Nichols

1922: Two doors on the Oak Hill School House, which are now sealed, are apparent in this 1922 photo supplied by Edith Hefner. Among those identified here are Loyd White, Willard Marlow, Charlie Brandon, Robert White, Frank Ragsdale Herbert Hawkins, Irene Wood, Bessie Turner, Wayne Brandon, Ralph Wood, Karl Dosher, Norton Sly, Kenneth Dasher, Elmer Russell, Ruth White, Lorraine German, Lillian Harkins, Russell Brandon, teacher Mrs. Hawkins, Cecil Wood, Henry Sly, Ailene McCurdy, Earnest Russell and Bernice Bradford. Oak Hill School was apparently preceeded by Horsley School, which is believed to have been situated in the vicinity of North Dixieland between St. Mary's Hospital and Horsley Cemetery. [Photo not supplied to this website.]