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Kemper (population 50) is located in southwestern Illinois in the far northeastern portion of Jersey County. Illinois Route 267 is the main roadway leading to and from Kemper. County Highway 3 also leads into town as doees County Highway 20 and Appletree Road. Accordding to www.mapquest.com, Kemper is about 2 blocks from north to south and 2 blocks from east to west. Kemper is located about 15 miles northeast of Jerseyville.

A very nice history of the town of Kemper can be read at the web address of

http://www.ilgenweb.org/247/history-of-kemper-jersey-county-illinois-thread-3540.html . This address was found by IHSGD site auther Roberta VanBriesen. A summary of the history of the town of Kemper and its former school is as follows:

The area in which Kemper is located was first settled in 1816. Ruyle Township, in which Kemper is situated, was established by Col. WIlliam Ruyle in 1877. The small hub of Kemper was first known as Palmer’s Prairie and then Delaware. However, when a train line was being laid through the area the land was donated by WIlliam Kemper, under the condition that the town be named Kemper. Though the railroad was instrumental in the town’s early growth, there does not appear to be a railroad line traveling through the area today.

Kemper residents established schooling for their children very early on. A grade school was built in Kemper in 1889. This school was open through 1953. The school had two rooms, one for grades 1 – 4, and the other for grades 5 – 8. The article states the following about high school courses being taught in Kemper:

“Then in 1914 and 1915 Mr. Austin Cope taught the 9^th and 10^th grades and had a nice class to graduate in 1916. Then it was discontinued, and the 8 grades were taught as before.”

The article is full of fascinating information. It was written in 1975 by Mrs. Monroe Elliot from her personal experience. When the grade school closed in 1953 the students attended school in nearby Medora. It is believed that when Medora School District was consolidated into Piasa Southwestern, the Kemper kids followed.

Kemper High School Quick Facts

Year opened (2-year HS):        1914

Year closed:                           1916

Consolidated to:                      Medora HS, now Piasa Southwestern

Athletics not offered

Kell Grade School – Former Kell High School Bldg.

Photo Courtesy of Jamie Driskill

Kell Sch. Entrance -“Kell School District No. 166”

Photo taken Feb, 2007 by Jamie Driskill

The History of Kell High School

Kell (population 231) is located in far south-central Illinois in the south-cental portion of Marion County. Kell sits about 8 miles north of Mt. Vernon and 8 miles east and a little south of Centralia.  County Highways 30 (Kell Road) and 35 intersect at Kell.  Illinois Route 161 passes by two miles to the north of town Connecting it to Interstate Highway 57 just three miles to the west.  Illinois Route 37 passes by Kell two miles to the west as well.  The Union Pacific Railroad line runs tracks through town and was likely instrumental in the town’s early growth and development.

A nice history of the town of Kell can be found on the Wikipedia web address of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kell%2C_Illinois.  According to Wikipedia:

“The first settler near Kell was Hiram Milburn, who arrived around 1836. Around 1854, he sold out, and founded Dix, Illinois.

Elizabeth Kell (ca. 1890 to ca. 1980) grew up in Kell. She taught school in Mt. Vernon through the 1950s, and was not much given to humor. She claimed that Kell had no name before the railroad came through. She was with her brothers watching workmen paint the new train station. They asked what the children’s names were. Upon finding out the children were all named Kell, they painted “Kell” on the sign, and the town had been Kell ever since.”

An excellent tribute to the history of the Kell School system and Kell High School was provided to us through research conducted by Jamie Driskill. The research is from an article titled “Kell Schools” written by Virginia Wilkins.  The article, in summary, states as follows:

The first Kell School was established in town in 1894.  It was originally a country school known as Old Hickory School.  The entire building was moved to town and received an addtional room for the influx of students.  The village at that time was named Little Ridge.  However, the Kell family was well known in the area so the school was named Kell School.

This original building served as Kell School until it was replaced by a frame building in 1920.  The frame building served the school district through 1934 when a new brick structure (pictured at the top of this page) was built.  This structure serves as the Kell Gade School building (with a few addtions) to this day.  The original Old Hickory School building has stood the test of time, believed to be functoning as a family home even today.

Kell School District established a high school in 1925.  The high school was originally established in the old Hickory Hill School building which had been replaced as a school just 5 years earlier.  The high school enrollment increased and quickly out-grew the old building.  A new location was sought and landed in the John Caldwell Store building in the center of Kell.  The building was remodeled to include two classrooms and a library.  Further increases in enrollment led to an additional classroom being rented from the Kell State Bank.  A gymnasium was made when townspeople converted a wagon and buggy shop owned by Henry Moehlman into a gymnasium.

Kell Grade School Front 2015

Left Click on Photo for Larger View

Kell Grad School Rear View 2015

A new, brick school building was built to house Kell High School in 1934.  The structure was a two-room facility with a gymnasium. Kell High School began as a two-year high school in the fall of 1925.  The fall of 1926 saw the addition of a third-year of high school offered.  The three-year high school in Kell operated for twenty years.  The school was absorbed into the Salem High School District in 1945.

The former Kell High School building, pictured on this page (photos by Jamie Driskill), still serves as the Kell Grade School building.

Kell High School Quick Facts

Year opened as 2-year HS:       1925

Year 3rd year added:                1926

Year Kell HS closed:                1945

Consolidated to:                       Salem High School

Kell HS team nickname:            unavailable

Kell HS team colors:                 unavailable

School Fight Song:                   unavailable

Keithsburg High School 1928 – 1960

Courtesy of Richard W. Nash

Keithsburg High School 1885-1928 (G.S. 1928-60)

Courtesy of Richard W. Nash

The History of Keithsburg High School

The town of Keithsburg (population 714) is located in upper-western Illinois along the banks of the Mississippi River. For further information, Keithsburg is in the southwest corner of Mercer County, about 45 miles southwest of the Quad Cities.

The town is named after it’s founder, Robert Keith. He also donated the first-ever building for a school to the town, so long as it was used for school purposes around 1850 to 1855. As that wasn’t followed through, the building and offer were withdrawn. Another building was erected in 1856, and the main part of that was used, with an addition to it in 1882.

The two photos above were provided to us by Richard Nash:

The photo at the top of the page is of the Keithsburg High School building constructed in 1928.  This building served as Keithsburg High School until 1960 when the consolidation effort into Westmer School District took place.

The photo to the above right is of the Keithsburg School building constructed in 1885.  It is believed this building served as the only building for grades 1 -12 prior to the construction of the “new” building in 1928.  This building continued to serve as the grade Keithsburg Grade School through 1960.  It was likely toen down shortly after its closure.

Keithsburg joined in a consolidation effort of western Mercer County towns Joy, New Boston, and Eliza in the early 1960s. A new high school came of the effort and is located in nearby Joy (Westmer HS). In 2010 Wesmer High School consolidated with Aledo High School leading to the creation of the Mercer County School District. The high school classes are held in Aledo.

Amanda Gresham provided the following information on the history of Keithsburg Schools:

“The high school building or buildings were in fact demolished following the closure and consolidation to Westmer. All that remains is what to me looks like may have been part of the foundation for a gymnasium (?), the sidewalk that at one time led up to the schools front doors (shown in your website’s pictures), and the row of trees that line the front of the schoolyard (which also can be seen in your pictures).  The current high school students of  Keithsburg attend classes in Aledo.

The building pictured and titled the “New” Keithsburg Grade School (below), still exsists but is now the Keithsburg town hall.  The grade school children attend class in New Boston.”

From Tom Wilson:

 **Henry V. Porter was principal and possibly coach of Keithsburg High in (at least) the 1914-15 school year. Porter then was principal and coach at Athens (coached his basketball team to 2nd in state tourney), Mount Zion and Delevan.

He was hired as Asst. Mgr of IHSA in 1928. In 1939 he published in IHSA newsletter an essay titled “MARCH MADNESS”. in 1942 he used the phrase in a poem. He had the phrase made into a Registered Trademark…..it appears that currently through court battles both the IHSA and NCAA jointly share the trademark.”

An article confirming this information can be read at the following web address:

http://thecontextofthings.com/2014/03/17/the-ncaa-tournament-and-march-madness-you-have-henry-porter-and-howard-staunton-to-generally-thank/

Keithsburg High School Quick Facts

Year opened:               late 1800s?

Year closed:                1960

Consolidated to:           Westmer High School (Joy)

Students Now Attend:  Aledo Mercer County High School

School nickname:        the “Blackhawks”

School colors:             Black & Orange

School Fight Song:      (To the tune of “There’s A Long, Long Trail A-Winding”)

Tune name the lyrics submitted by Stephanie Sirotnak Braucht

                             We will praise those grand old colors,

                             Salute the orange and black.

                             We’ll give three cheers for Keithsburg

                             Let them all ring back.

                             We are off to certain victories,

                             And we will take nothing less;

                             For that’s the truest motto

                             Of our dear old K.H.S.

                             Rah! Rah! Rah!

Athletics

Keithsburg High School probably offered many sports during its existence. Very limited information was uncovered on the IHSA web site. Many schools in the area offered baseball, football, track, & basketball. Keithsburg definitely competed in basketball and track, baseball was quite possible at some point as well. Boys’ basketball brought home two IHSA District titles which are listed below.

  ——————————————————————————————————–

Boys Basketball

The boys basketball program at Keithsburg High School enjoyed many successes over the years. In addition to two District titles won, the program had other seasons where they came very close to winning. Below are some scores we located on a website titled “Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores.” Season records and coach’s names are needed for all of the Keithsburg HS seasons.

  —– 

1933-34         Roseville District Runner-Up        Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Won – score needed

2nd Rd Beat Roseville 21-7

Semi-final beat Avon 43-31

Title Game lost to Media 30-29

  —–  

1934-35         Roseville District Tournament          Coach’s name & record needed  

1st Rd Beat Oquawka 55-7

2nd Rd lost to Monmouth 30-10

Monmouth lost to Stronghurst in semi-final

Stronghurst lost to Roseville in title game                         

  —–  

1935-36         Reynolds District Champions       Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd Beat Seaton 49-17

Semi-final won game – score needed

Title Game Beat Port Byron 26-17

Moline Regional Tournament

1st Rd lost to East Moline 58-14

East Moline beat Moline in title game

  —–  

1936-37  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

  —–     

1937-38         Keithsburg Regional Runner-Up  Coach’s name & record needed

Early Rd scores needed

Title Game lost to Oquawka 31-28

  —–  

1938-39  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1939-40  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1940-41  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1941-42  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1942-43  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1943-44  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1944-45  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1945-46  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1946-47  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1947-48  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

  —–  

1948-49         New Boston District Tournament     Coach’s name & record needed  

1st Rd Beat Little York 58-35

Semi-final lost to New Boston 59-41

New Boston beat New Windsor in title game

  —–  

1949-50         New Windsor District Tournament   Coach’s name & record needed  

1st Rd Beat Alwood 47-45

Semi-final lost to Viola 65-46

Viola lost to New Boston in title game

  —–  

1950-51         New Boston District Tournament     Coach’s name & record needed  

 1st Rd Beat Seaton 54-46

Semi-final lost to Viola 63-53

Viola lost to New Boston in title game

  —–  

1951-52         New Windsor District Tournament   Coach’s name & record needed  

1st Rd Beat Coal Valley 62-52

Semi-final lost to Viola 61-56

Title Game score unavailable

  —–  

1952-53  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1953-54         IHSA District Champions              Coach’s name & record needed 

District Scores Needed

Joy Regional Tournament

1st Rd lost to Aledo 43-42

Aledo lost to Winola in semi-final

Winola lost to joy in title game

  —–  

1954-55  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1955-56  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1956-57  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

1957-58  Postseason scores, record, and coach’s name needed.

  —–  

1958-59         Joy District Tournament                   Coach’s name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Joy 70-41

Joy beat New Boston in title game

  —–  

1959-60         Joy District Tournament                   Coach’s name & record needed

** 1st Rd lost to Little York 78-25

Little York lost to Joy in title game

**Last game for Keithsburg High School, consolidated to Westmer High School in the summer of 1960.

  —————————————————————————————————————

Memories

From Richard Nash (Class of 1941):

“The superintendent of Keithsburg High School from 1935 through the mid-1940s was E.H. Test, who succeeded Mr. Platt. Coach for all sports at the school for that same time period was Lawrence Junchen.

Some of the memorable teachers from the late 1930s included:

1st Grade:  Miss Greenwood

5th Grade:  Mrs. Hamilton

6th Grade:  Miss Meva Keel

7/8th Grade:  Mrs. Keith Stanley

HS History: Miss Olga Reipe

HS English: Miss Opal Stephens”

Keithsburg / Westmer Administrator Albert Sirotnak

From Stephanie Sirotnak Braucht:

“I graduated from grade school in Keithsburg in 1962 and attended high school at Westmer HIgh School in Joy, which was the result of the consolidation.  We had moved to Keithsburg when I was 3, when my father accepted a position as principal and teacher in the grade school there.  He was with Keithsburg, and then Westmer, until he died suddenly in 1968.

While the high school mascot was “The Black Hawks,” after the famous Sac-Fox warrior by that name who lived (and fought) in this area, the grade school was known as “The Tigerhawks” (which later kind of morphed into just Tigers).

I have attached a photo of my dad, Albert J. Sirotnak.  As I mentioned, he was an administrator for Keithsburg (later Westmer) from 1951 until 1968.

Keithsburg Grade School Principal 1951-1960

(Consolidation took place for the 1960-61 school year)

Westmer Elementary Coordinator and Junior High Principal 1960-1967

Westmer Superintendent 1967-68

He died in the summer of 1968 of a heart attack at the age of 50.”

  —————————————————————————————————–

Seeking Further Information

We are seeking further information regarding the town of Keithsburg, its high school, and their better athletic accomplishments. We are very hopeful a resident or history buff from the area will help us out. If you have any information you would like to share please complete a School Submission Form or Guest Commentary Form, or at our e-mail address of ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net .

“New” Keithsburg Grade School

Keithsburg, Illinois

Keenes (population 99) is located southeastern Illinois in the southwestern portion of Wayne County. Illinois Route 15 is the main roadway to and from Keenes. County Highway 13 also takes you to and from town. The Norfolk Southern Railroad passes through Keenes as well. According to Mapquest (www.mapquest.com) Keenes is about four blocks from east to west and four blocks from south to north.

The following information was found at the web address of http://archive.org/stream/historyofwaynecl00chic#page/250/mode/2up . Keenes was at first called Keen Station as it was established along an early railroad line of the area.

“Keen Station is a small town situated on the Air Line three miles west of Wayne City, and consists of two general stores, and one grocery store. It has a good school and a substantial church building is being erected by the Missionary Baptists. A grist mill was put up there in 1881, and there are also two saw mills at this place.”

We are uncertain of when, but at some point the name of the village was changed from Keen Station to Keenes. This is currently the extent of the information we have regarding the village of Keenes.

We know very little about the history of Keenes High School. We were made aware of the fact that the town supported a high school when reviewing a web site that lists high school basketball scores from the 1920s through the 1970s. On the web address of http://sites.google.com/site/xtmi2000/ the town of “Kerens” is listed as playing Crossville in the first round of the District Tourney in Fairfield. In checking the area around Fairfield the only town with similar spelling was that of Keenes. Other ‘typos’ have been discovered on the site, so we believe that the author was writing about Keenes.

We believe that Keenes was a two or three-year high school that was open from the early 1920s through the late 1940s. At this time this information is simply an educated guess. We believe that when Keenes High School closed the students began attending nearby Wayne City High School, which is still going strong today.

Keenes High School Quick Facts

Year opened:                           1920s?

Year closed:                            1940s?

Consolidated to:                       Wayne City High School

Keenes HS Team Nickname:    ??

Keenes HS Team Colors:         ??

Keenes HS Fight Song:            ??

Kaskaskia is located in southwestern Illinois along the Mississippi River in Randolph County. It was the site of the first state capital in Illinois from 1818-1820 that was started as a Native American village. Missionaries established a mission there in 1703 in the hope of converting the population to the Catholic faith, plus the French came and set up a trading post. Thirty years later, Fort Kaskaskia was erected, but was destroyed at the end of the French & Indian War in 1763 by the British, who captured the site and held it until 1778 when George Rogers Clark led colonial forces to victory and claimed it for Virginia. The community served as the capital of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to 1818 before statehood was granted. After the state capital moved to Vandalia in 1820, Kaskaskia continued to thrive as a river town, but succumbed to a flood in 1844, and forced the community to move south and away from the Mississippi River. The original location of Kaskaskia became an island at that point, and endured annual floods. The flood of 1881 was the final straw as it completely wiped out all remnants of Kaskaskia Island.

The Academy of the Visitation was opened in 1833 by the Sisters of the Visitation from Georgetown University at the request of Bishop Joseph Rosati of St. Louis, whose diocese at the time included the entire state of Illinois. The school was the first Catholic institution for girls in the state of Illinois, as Mother Agnes Brent along with six other nuns arrived in May 1833 to open the school. Residents such as Col. Pierre Menard (a former Lieutenant Governor of Illinois) and merchant William Morrison had daughters that they wanted to have an education, so they petitioned Bishop Rosati to send for the Visitadines to come on behalf of the residents.

The school grew to 30 students within its first three months of operation, doing so in the second floor of the Morrison home until they moved into an empty building owned by Menard as the result of large crack that might have been caused by an 1812 earthquake of the New Madrid Fault. That building remained the school’s home until 1837 when Col. Menard built a four-story building that was ready to be moved into in 1837 at a cost of $30,000. The Visitadines were grateful to their patron that they renamed it the Menard Academy, and paid back the money they borrowed from him until the remaining debt was forgiven upon Col. Menard’s death.

The Academy was closed following the flood of 1844 after torrential rains forced the Mississippi River overflow its banks and forced the sisters to take shelter at the Menard home. At the same time, the community of Chicago was named as a diocese to oversee the majority of Illinois, and both Bishops William Quarter of Chicago and Rosati from St. Louis wanted the school as well as the nuns for their diocese. In the end, the school closed while the Visitadines moved to St. Louis to start a new school.

Some of the brick from the school was salvaged to build a rectory (or home) for the parish priest, although a huge hole was caused by the riverboat Indiana when the nuns enlisted the vessel in a rescue mission to retrieve sacred items and the boat ran into the building in an attempt to get near it. The Flood of 1844 was enough to have residents change the location of the county seat of Randolph from Kaskaskia to Chester.

The community’s population has dropped significantly since 1950 when there were 112 people living in Kaskaskia. In 1970, there were only 79 people recorded in the census, which dropped to 33 by 1980 and to its current total of nine in 2000.

Kakaskia (population 14) is located in southwestern Illinois in the southwestern portion of Randolph County. Illinois Route 150/51 is the only route that will take you west across the Mississippi River toward Kaskaskia. Once crossing the Mississippi River Missouri County Roadway 946 will lead to the town of St. Mary. County Road 15 will then lead to Kaskaskia. The Mississippi River flows to the east of town.

Kaskaskia has the distinction of being the ONLY town in Illinois which is located west of the Mississippi River. It is also the second smallest town currently in Illinois with 14 residents, having one more resident than the Pike County village of Valley City, according to the 2010 census.

Kaskaskia has an incredible history however. For one year this town was the state capital of Illinois (1818-1819). Kaskaskia enjoyed great early prosperity as one of the important riverside ports of the midwest, reaching a population of about 7,000. In 1881 the Mississippi River had an immense flood, literally destroying nearly everything in the town. The flood was so great that it changes the course of the river which would now flow to the east of Kaskaskia. The town would never recover from the flood. Population continued to decline to the point of having just 33 residents in 1980. Another great flood submerged the town under nine feet of water in 1993. Though a few landmark buildings were saved, most of the remaining residents relocated. Today the population sits at 14, up five residents from the year 2000.  For a more extensive history of Kaskaskia please visit the Wikipedia web address of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaskaskia,_Illinois .

Kaskaskia was home to Kaskaskia Academy from 1833 – 1844. We know that Kaskaskia residents supported a high school for a period of time as well. Our guess is that Kaskaskia High School was established in the late 1800s. We believe it existed through the late 1940s. We know that the children of Kaskaskia today attend school in nearby Chester.

An interesting article written in the New York Times on November 10, 2012 can be read at the following web address:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/us/kaskaskia-journal-living-in-the-american-atlantis.html?_r=0

Kaskaskia High School Quick Facts

Year opened:                              late 1800s(?)

Year closed:                               late 1940s(?)

Consolidated to:                         Chester High School

Kaskaskia HS team nickname:    ??

Kaskaskia HS team colors:         ??

Kaskaskia HS fight song:            ??

Extra Curricular Activities

We are certain sports were likely not the only item offered at Kasbeer HS.  It is probable that choir, plays, and many other activities made the experience of attending KHS a rewarding one.

Memories and Facts

From Lyle “Ben” Lund:

“I do not have many resources here that are of much good, an article from a centennial book on Ohio, my dad’s diploma, and pictures and info of the grade school which was on the same ground as the high school. The Ohio centennial article tells of the formation of the high school in 1917-1918 as a consolidation of another school district, #24, with Kasbeer which was #23.  My dad’s diploma shows him to have graduated from a public school in district 24 in 1918. I’m sure it was the Kasbeer high school as he was then 17 years old. The article says the high school closed after a few years.  I think it was at least 10.  As far as a graduation picture, there were probably no more than 3 or 4 others in his class and I never have seen any pics of that time.  I do have photos of him and my mother (as well as my brother, sister and myself) in the Kasbeer grade school.”

From Roberta Van Briesen:

(A good friend of the Glory Days website.)

“Kasbeer Grade School was open at least through the early 1990s. I believe the school was closed in 1994.  The school building is located on the south edge of town.  It is a one-story frame building. It is still standing and, I believe, being used by the township.”

Do You Have Information on Kasbeer High School?

If you do, please contact us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net.  A photo of the original school building is especially being sought.  You can also send items to us at:

IHSGD Website 

6439 N. Neva Ave.

Chicago, Il. 60631

Karnak HS Gym Building 2010 (Front view)

Courtesy of James Horaz

The History of Karnak High School

The town of Karnak (population 619) is situated in the southern tip of Illinois in northeastern Pulaski County. Karnak was platted along Il. Route 169 two miles east of Il. Route 37. The Ohio River / Kentucky border sits just five miles to the south. Two railroad lines, the Missouri Pacific and Conrail, intersect in the middle of town.  The village of Karnak was established in 1905 by the Main Brothers Box & Lumber Company. It is named after a town in Egypt of the same name.

It is not known when the town of Karnak and its educational system were established. It is known that in 1965 Karnak residents joined in a consolidation effort with several small towns in the area which included Ullin, its neighbor to the west, and Grand Chain. The effort became a reality and the Century School DIstrict was born. Karnak kids attend school in Ullin to this day.

Sign on Former School Building – 2010

Submitted by James Horaz

Mark Sauerbrunn, a native of Karnak, provided the following information regarding the former Karnak High School building:

“After the consolidation of the Century School District in the 1960’s, the high school became an unoffical community center and the old grade school building that was next to it became the headquarters for Shawnee Development incorporated.  After Shawnee Development built a new building several years ago, the old grade school was abandoned and was destroyed in a fire approximately three years ago.  The high school was used for the community Halloween Carnival for many years.  The school has now been converted to a garage to house the towns utilitiy trucks, etc.  My mother was in the last graduating class of Karnak High School which contained twelve graduates.  The school still had classes for the Century district until the Century school was completed in 1965.”

Karnak High School Quick Facts

Year opened:                       late 1800s

Year closed:                        1965

School nickname:                the “Raiders”

School colors:                     Red, Black, & White

School Fight Song:              unavailable

Kansas (population 787) is located in far east-central Illinois in the southwest portion of Edgar County. Kansas sits on Illinois Route 16 at the intersection of Illinois Route 49 and County Highway 12. Kansas is located about 14 miles northeast of Charleston. The success of Kansas’ early growth stems from the construction of the Terre Haut & Alton Railroad through the area.  Kansas enjoyed trhe benefits of a railway system in their town until 1983 when railway service was discontinued.

A nice history of the town of Kansas can be viewed at the web address of  http://www.kansas-illinois.com/history/OurFirstHundredYears.htm . In summary the history of Kansas is as follows:

The area in which Kansas was established was first settled in the early 1820s. In 1853 the village was created and initially named Midway. It was later found that there was a village named Midway in Fulton County. The town was eventually incorporated in 1858 and named Kansas after the township it was located in.

The first school in Kansas was started in 1853. In 1889 the Kansas school district was formed which included both a grade and high school. This school system continues to be in service today. The sports teams were known as the Kansas High School Bulldogs until 2004 when an all-sports cooperative agreement was made with nearby Oakland.

In 1894 a private school known as the Eaton Academy was created. It was the dream of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Willasey.  The school accepted students from age eight through high school. This school closed in 1904. Another website for limited information regarding Eaton Academy is found at the web adddress of

http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofschools00hump#page/n81/mode/2up

Kansas Eton Academy Quick Facts

Year opened:           1894

Year closed:            1904

Consolidated to:       Kansas High School

Unknown if sports were offered

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT KANSAS ETON ACADEMY…

then please contact us. We are always looking for information about the school, memories and information of former students, and so on. A picture of the school building would also be greatly appreciated. Please contact us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net or thru the USPS at:

Illinois High School Glory Days

6439 N. Neva Ave.

Chicago, IL  60631