| Delafield School Student Body – Circa 1940s | ||||||||||
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| http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jgholson/htm0766School1940delafiel.htm | ||||||||||
The History of Delafield High School
Delafield (population approximately 100) is an unincorporated village situated in the far southern portion of Illinois in northwestern Hamilton County. The village is located about 6 miles northwest of McLeansboro in Dahlgren Township. State Route 142 and the L & N Railroad bisect the village.
The village of Delafield was platted before 1870, but in 1887 was said to consist of “little more than a station on the railroad”. The village apparently grew around the turn of century, but probably never had more than 200 people.
The available information about Delafield High School is primarily from a history written in 1982 by former student Mildred Rawls Neal, as posted on the Hamilton County Geneologytrails website found at the following address:
http://genealogytrails.com/ill/hamilton/delafieldschool.htm
The original rural school in the Delafield area was known as the Texas Grove School . In 1903, a new two-room Texas Grove school was built about a half-mile southeast of the village of Delafield . At some point, probably in the 1920’s, the school began offering 2 years of high school classes.
A long, narrow storage/cloakroom that ran the length of the building was remodeled into high school classrooms. High school teachers at Delafield included Aaron Cravens, Nana Hart, John Knight, Marion Brown and Wilburn Cullins, Principal. Around 1930, the school began to be known as Delafield after the new state highway was completed. High school classes were continued at least into the 1940’s. In 1950 the Delafield school was closed, and the district was consolidated into Hamilton County District #10.
In 1982, the Delafield school building was still standing and was used by a business known as Hodge Furniture. The current status of the building is not known.
Kyle Shoultz tells us the following information about the Delafield HS building:
“The Delafield School building was auctioned and torn down in the summer of 2004. My great grandmother, Imogene Myers, is the only teacher of the school still living to date.”
Delafield students today attend McLeansboro ( Hamilton County ) High School. More information and pictures of Delafield High School are welcome.
Delafield High School Quick Facts
Year opened: 1920s?
Year closed: late 1940s?
Consolidated to: McLeansboro Hamilton County High School
School team nickname: unavailable
School team colors: unavailable
School Fight Song: unavailable
Athletics
Mrs. Neal states that the Delafield boys developed an outdoor basketball court and played games against other schools. Their foes likely included other 2- and 3-year high schools in the area, such as Belle Rive, Opdyke , Macedonia, and Walpole.
| “Glory Days” Gratitude Goes Out To:
Our good friend Gerry Halpin who conducted the research and provided the report you have read on this page. Sincere thank you to Gerry for this excellent find and, most importantly, helping preserve the memory of Delafield High School. If You Have Any Further Information Regarding Delafield High School: Contact us via e-mail at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. You can also mail items to us via USPS to the following address: IHSGD Website 6439 N. Neva Ave. Chicago, Il. 60631 |
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