For many of us, one-room schoolhouses are quaint places to visit to get a taste of long-ago history. Many small towns have preserved their schools to draw visitors. But a century ago, these little schools were a normal part of everyday life, a way to educate students of all ages. These photos of Minnesota schools in the early 1900s will show you that schools back then were nothing like they are today.
The first formal education in Minnesota, according to Minneapolis Public Schools, took place on the banks of Lake Harriet in 1834.
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As the years progressed, one-room schoolhouses took over.
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Students of all ages gathered in these little buildings to learn history, English, math, and more.
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With blackboards and wood-burning stoves, they were much different than schools today.
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Even school transportation was much different. This photo shows a homemade mounted sleigh — complete with a stove — used by one family in Beltrami County one cold winter. With no big yellow bus waiting for them, children relied on these means of getting to school.
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As the century progressed, regulations were put in place to decide which textbooks, disciplinary methods, and curriculum to use.
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Though early schools are almost unrecognizable compared to today’s schools, they still hold an important place in the history of Minnesota and the U.S. as a whole.
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Did you know these little schools were so important to Minnesota history? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. And if you’re looking for more old-school facts about Minnesota, check out our list of 11 unusual historical facts you didn’t know about Minnesota.
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