Littleton School Reunion 2014 From Teresa Rebman: “The Littleton School Reunion will be held on Sat., August 2nd, 2014 at the Littleton United Methodist Church. The church is air-conditioned and handicap assessable. A potluck meal will begin at noon. Bring old pictures and memories to share. Drinks and table service provided.”
The History of Littleton High School Littleton (population 197) is located in western Illinois in the north-central portion of Schuyler County. The sits about 15 miles south of Macomb just west of U.S. Route 67 on Illinois Route 101. The West Branch of the Sugar Creek flows by the north side of town. Littleton was platted in 1849 by James Little and William Wendow. It has remained a quiet, “little” town ever since. To read more about the town of Littleton’s early history check out the following website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilschuyl/Littleton.html . The first school house in town was built in 1849 and made of logs. The second school house was built in 1856 and was a two-story brick structure. A high school was probably established in the late 1800s. It most likely served the town of Littleton for about five decades. We believe that the folks of Littleton probably entered into a consolidation effort with their neighbors from nearby Rushville in the late 1940s. At some point, probably around 1949, Littleton High School closed and the children of Littleton began attending school in Rushville. The following historical account of the Littleton School system was provided to us by Teresa M. Rebman. Teresa tells us she gathered this information from material written in 1976 by Bernice Greer and Robert “Pete” Fulks. She then added the more recent events from there. History of Littleton School “The village of Littleton is located in Schuyler County, which was organized in 1825 and named for General Schuyler of the Revolutionary War. One of the first pioneer settlers to come to Littleton Township was David Turner in 1835, and he built his cabin on the N.E. quarter of Section 27. In 1849 Leonidas Horney platted the village of Littleton which was named for James Little. Thomas Bronaugh taught the first school in Littleton in the summer of 1835 in an old deserted log cabin on the S. W. quarter of Section 21. The first actual building erected as a schoolhouse was built in 1838 The first building erected for school purposes was built in 1838 on the S. W. quarter of Section 19. Samuel Horney was the first teacher in this building. The Village of Littleton erected its first school building 1849 and replaced it with a two story brick building in 1856. On October 26, 1856, this building was destroyed by a destructive tornado. To replace it, a two- room frame building was erected on the site. In 1907, a four room, two-story, building of concrete block construction was built to replace the old frame building. A gymnasium was added to the south of this building in 1939. A cafeteria and kitchen was added to the west of the gym in 1949. The Walker School which was originally located northwest of Littleton on the Neeley farm was moved in 1950 and placed to the north of the two-story building. Littleton High School was discontinued in 1947. From 1948-1967, the Littleton School served as an elementary school with grades 1-8. From the fall of 1967-1983, it continued as an elementary school serving grades 1-6 with a kindergarten class being added in 1969. On June 21, 1981, a tornado tore through the Village of Littleton destroying many homes, the Methodist Church, and the two-story school building, but leaving the gymnasium intact. Two portable buildings were brought in and school resumed in the fall. However, after using the portable buildings for two years, the school board voted to close the school at the end of the 1983 school year. The township took over the gymnasium and cafeteria, which is now used as the Littleton Community Center. Every two years there is a community picnic and a school reunion held at the shelter house and park on the former school grounds with the next homecoming/reunion scheduled for August 4, 2012 with a potluck meal at noon.” The following information regarding the fate of the Littleton HS building was provided to us by Ron Arnold: “I attended grade school at the Littleton school in the 60’s. The school nickname was the Littleton “Lions” and the team colors were red and white. The school was demolished because of a tornado that came through town and took the top story of the school completely off. The rest of the school was taken down and only the gymnasium is left. Thanks for the memories.” The Littleton High School building was demolished, however the gymnasium is still in use by the community of Littleton. Littleton High School Quick Facts Year opened: late 1800s Year closed: 1947 Consolidated to: Rushville School District Littleton HS team nickname: “Lions” LHS team colors: Red & White (possibly Purple & Gold) School Fight Song: unavailable |
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