The History of Iola High School Iola (population 171) is located in southeastern Illinois in the northwestern portion of Clay County. County Highway 7 is the main roadway to and from Iola. County Roadways 310E and 400E flank the town on the east and west sides..According to Mapquest (www.mapquest.com) Iola is about 4 blocks from north to south and 4 blocks from east to west. Iola is about 26 miles southwest of Effingham. There was very little found on the internet regarding the history of the town of Iola. We did locate an article at the web address of http://genealogytrails.com/ill/clay/iola%20old%20settlers%20history.html which states that a small town called Larkinsburg was first established in the area in the mid-1800s. Tragedy struck the village in October of 1866 when a tornado passed through the area. Larkinsburg was devistated and one person was killed. In 1870 the railroad passed by Larkinsburg about one mile to the east. The village of Larkinsburg was soon forgotten and a new village named Iola was established. Iola residents set up educational opportunities very early on in the town’s development. We know very little about this however. We only know that Iola once supported a high school due to a web site we discovered that lists Illinois High School Basketball scores from 1922 – 1991 (https://sites.google.com/site/xtmi2000/ ). On this site we found scores for Iola High School boys basketball for several years during the 1930s. We will list these results below in the basketball section. We can only guess at this point, however we believe that Iola High School was likely a three-year high school that began in the early 1920s. The obituary of Rosemary Flynn-Anderson (http://www.andersonfcs.com/obituary/rosemary-flynn/) states that she attended Iola High School in the late 1930s and graduated from Flora High School. It is probable that the school closed in the late 1940s. We believe the kids of Iola began attending Louisville North Clay School District schools at that time. This agreement probably continues today. If you have ANY information to the contrary or that can assist in making the history of Iola High School clearer, please write to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. Iola High School Quick Facts Year opened: early 1920s(?) Year closed: late 1940s(?) Consolidated to: Louisville North Clay High School Iola HS team nickname: ?? Iola HS team colors: ?? Iola HS fight song: ?? |
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