| The History of Walnut Grove Township High School
Walnut Grove (population approximately 25) is located in upper-western Illinois in the northeastern portion of McDonough County. Walnut Grove is an unincorporated hamlet that sits about 10 miles northeast of Macomb and 20 miles southwest of Galesburg. The village is located at the intersection of County Highway 9 and County Road 2300th N. In fact, these are the only two streets in town. A nice view of the history of Walnut Grove Township can be found at http://www.macomb.com/~ilmcdono/townships/WalnutGrovetpindex.html . Both the history of the town of Walnut Grove and the history of Walnut Grove Township are available on this site. A summary of both is as follows: Walnut Grove Township was first settled in 1830. The town of Walnut Grove was “laid out” in 1870. It was originally created on a railroad line that passed through the area, however this railroad line no longer exists according to www.mapquest.org. In 1885 there were “two grain elevators, one feed mill, one general store, two blacksmith shops, postoffice, station, a town hall and five dwelling houses” in the town limits. Today a grain elevator, a church, and a few houses remain in the village.. In 1885 there were nine school districts in the Walnut Grove Township. Unfortunately this is the extent of the information we have available regarding Walnut Grove Township High School. The only other information is from a document viewed on “e-bay”. The document was a program for the graduation ceremonies of Walnut Grove Township High School that were set for the spring of 1938. Our only guess would come from researching similar-sized towns previously placed on the Glory Days website. We would guess that high school curriculum was offered in a school located in or near Walnut Grove by the early to late 1920s. It was probably a two or three-year high school. Our guess is that the high school portion of Walnut Grove Township school was closed in the 1940s. We only know that children of the Walnut Grove area attend Bushnell-Prairie City High School today. It is possible that Walnut Grove Township High School was located in the country near the village of Walnut Grove or in the village itself, we simply do not know. If you have ANY information to assist with the research of this page please contact us at eganann@sbcglobal.net. Walnut Grove Township High School Quick Facts Year opened: 1920s? Year closed: 1940s? Consolidated to: Bushnell-Prairie City High School (possibly Prairie City HS first) Walnut Grove HS team nickname: unknown if athletics were offered |
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