Book Report: A History of the Rural Schools in Greene County, MO by David L. Burton (2000, 2010)

I bought this book from David Burton at the UM Extension office because I wanted to learn more about the one room schoolhouse just down the road (Farm Road 190 and Highway FF). It’s Green Ridge, and apparently it’s in use as a garage, or it was when the book was written. I’d known there was a school over there, but I think I’ve been pointing visitors to the wrong building.

I’ve also learned there was a one-room school probably in sight of my back deck (Capernaum). How fascinating.

At any rate, the book is a brief history of school districts in Missouri from the pre-state days up until the reorganization in the 1940s. A bit dry on the text, but it’s focused on policy and events, not a driving historical personage. A catalog of the schools in Greene County follows as well as some photos and driving tours.

A nice resource. Nice enough that I bought the book on CD, too, so I can search it with a computer. However, for this review, I flipped through the book to check the names of the schools above. Maybe I’m not that far into the 20th century yet, which explains why I sought this book out.

Books mentioned in this review:

A history of rural schools in Greene County, Mo

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