Editor’s note: This is the first of three articles submitted by the Putnam County CUSD #535 School District to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the formation of the school district. The articles are written by Gil Tonozzi, Bill Ellena and Joe Massino, all former administrators at Putnam County Schools.
Part 1
Putnam County has always had a reputation for its excellence in education. Dating back to days when Putnam County was the largest county in the state of Illinois, the founding fathers valued education and oversaw the construction of schools for the education of all of the children of the county.
Each community had its own school(s) and the rural areas had one-room school houses for the education of the rural children. Each township had one four-year high school, except Magnolia Township which had two. McNabb had a two-year high school, whose students could complete their four-year course of study at either Hopkins Township High School in Granville or at the John Swaney High School in rural McNabb. In time, Putnam County shrank from being the largest county to the smallest county in the state of Illinois. Likewise, the number of schools decreased.
One of Putnam County’s earliest educational gems occurred when John and Sarah Swaney donated 24 acres of land south of McNabb to build a high school. Two buildings were built. The south building served as a dormitory for boarding students and also housed the school’s gymnasium. The north building served as the academic center.
Many outstanding feats were achieved by the students in both the literary and music fields. John Swaney High School boasted of fielding the first interscholastic wrestling team in the county. Story has it that the John Swaney High School provided the first school bus service for students. Also, the first high school consolidation in the county occurred in 1947 when Magnolia High School and John Swaney High School formed Magnolia-Swaney High School. The first two years of consolidation were on a trial basis. The first graduating class of the Magnolia-Swaney consolidated school happened in the spring of 1949.
Meanwhile, up the road in the northern end of the county, the village of Granville had a high school with students from Granville, Mark and Standard making up its enrollment. Students from a number of one-room schools, such as Bisher School, Dysart School, Fairview School, Hullinger School, Union Grove School, Sprinkleburg School, Gehm School, Florid School and Centerville School, also added to the enrollment. Classes for the Granville High School were held in an upper level of store located at the corner of McCoy Street and Hopkins Avenue.
The high school had no gymnasium so they played their home basketball games at the Granville Grade School where the gymnasium was located on the fourth floor.
In 1919, a new high school was built in the northeast corner of Granville on 10 acres of land. The search for a name for the high school presented a problem since some of the school district’s territory overlapped into two neighboring counties. It was decided the name should be in honor of the first school board president, A.W. Hopkins. It became known as Hopkins Township High School. A.W. Hopkins, through his philanthropic generosity, donated $5,000 to build a garage and stable to accommodate 25 cars and 14 horse carriages. He later donated another $5,000 to help beautify the grounds.
On Sunday, March 15, 1925, the Peoria Journal Star ran a featured article entitled “Hopkins High: Educational Leader in ‘20’s”. The story told of this modern marvel school on the prairie with new ideas for education. Mention was made of the museum, the stained glass windows, the statuary, the many and varied pictures adorning the walls of the halls and the design of the building. It further pointed out the landscaping with all of the trees and flowers that beautified the campus.
Hopkins High School’s first graduating class of 1918 consisted of seven students. The school remained in operation for 49 years, eventually becoming a part of Putnam County Community Unit School District 535. The Hopkins building served as the home of the Putnam County High School for its first 11 years of existence.
In Hennepin Township, the high school was located in the village of Hennepin, in what was referred to as the Hennepin High School Building. Elementary students occupied the lower level while the high school conducted classes on the upper level. The high school had no gymnasium at this time but held its home basketball games in the Odd Fellows Hall across the street from what is now Walter Durley Boyle Park. There was no running water in the hall making it impossible to shower.
Like all of the Putnam County high schools, Hennepin High School’s enrollment was enriched by the graduates from the one-room country schools, such as Nash School, Durley School, Poole School and Sand Prairie School. However, class size usually remained small.
A windfall occurred in the 1940s when Adam and Ida Deck donated 527 acres of rich, bottom farmland to the Hennepin Grade School. This land was considered by many to be the richest and most productive in the township. With the income from this land, the school district was able to construct a modern up-to-date gymnasium for physical education and athletics and a stage area for musicals, plays, graduation ceremonies, etc. In appreciation of their philanthropy, the school board named the gymnasium the Adam and Ida Deck Memorial Gymnasium.
A second windfall occurred later when the Illinois Power Co. built a power plant in the northwestern corner of the county. With the tax base that was added due to the new plant, the Hennepin School District became one of the richest school districts in the state of Illinois. This enabled the school district to hire some of the very best teachers available as well as modernizing its building and upgrading its equipment.
In the early 1960s, an addition was attached to the west side of the Hennepin building which provided additional classrooms and locker rooms.
Suddenly the area was shocked when it was announced that a steel plant from Pittsburgh, Pa., had purchased approximately 6,000 acres of farmland north of Hennepin and proposed to build a steel finishing plant on the site. The river was already in place and rail transportation was nearby. A four-lane highway close to the area was being proposed. Conditions were ideal for a steel mill such as Jones and Laughlin (J&L) to be developed.