Grandview High School

Grandview (population 75?) is an unicorporated village situated in far east-central Illinois in the southwest portion of Edgar County. Grandview is located on County Highway 20 about 1 mile south of Illinois Route 16. According to MapQuest (www.mapquest.com) Grandview is about 4 blocks from east to west and 3 blocks from north to south.

A nice history regarding the early development of the village of Grand View is found in a book titled “The History of Edgar County” written by William Henry. The book can be viewed at the web address of  http://books.google.com/books?id=3XQUAAAAYAAJ&q=grandview#v=onepage&q=grand%20view&f=false . Page 364 provides the following information about Grandview:

Grandview (spelled “Grand View” in those days) was platted in 1831 due to a large number of settlers moving to the area to be near the Big Creek. The town enjoyed immediate, steady growth and soon was thought to have a great future. A hotel and, at one time, six general stores, allowed for plenty of shopping to be done in Grandview. In 1853, however, the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad laid tracks a few miles from town, thus taking away a major source of transportation and potential commerce from Grandview.

A book titled “The History of Schools in Edgar County” was written in 1968 by Charles Humphrey can be viewed at the web address of http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofschools00hump#page/n75/mode/2up .  A summary of the history of Grandview schools is as follows.

The first school was started in Grandview in 1837. In 1906 a new school building was erected. The building supported a grade school from 1906 – 1924.  In that year an addition was made to the building and a 2-year high school was begun.  The high school existed from 1924 through the end of the 1932-33 school year when it was closed.  The grade school remained open until it was closed in the spring of 1948.

The school building continued to serve the town as a community center, at least through 1968. The children of Grandview now attend all grades of school in nearby Kansas. A photo and the fate of the Grandview school building is being sought.

Grandview High School Quick Facts

Year opened:          1924

Year closed:           1933

Consolidated to:      Kansas High School

Unkown if athletics were offered