Information, Suggestions & Questions?

Morton One Room School Historical Museum

If you've just inquired about a school class visit -



You will soon receive a Teacher Registration Form that will ask you for some very basic
information that we will use to create a record for your school class and schedule your visit.
Once we receive the completed form, we will register your class on the Morton Events calendar
and then contact you by phone or email to determine if you might have any specific requests
or questions about your class visit.

You can request that the classwork conducted during your visit be somewat tailored to your
specific class. You can chose from a number of different classroon topics in the Science,
Geography, and History portion of the program and the Spelling and Math will be
selected to be appropriate for your students.

We will work with you to insure that your visit is enjoyable for you and your students.

Here are a few suggestions that might make your visit even more interesting:



1. Research, read, and discuss as much as possible about one-room schools, late 1800s and early 1900s rural community life, and the history of Morton School. America's Country Schools by Andrew Gulliford is an excellent reference book. 2. We hope that you encourage your students to dress according to the times. The following are some suggestions: Boys: Loose fitting shirts, bib overalls,socks worn outside pants to resemble knickers, sturdy shoes or boots Girls: dresses worn below the knee with or without pinafores, long black or white stockings, large ribbon or bow in hair Often children wore clothes one or two sizes too big because country school children (as well as many others during this period) received hand me downs. In winter - long johns were a good way to stay warm! Please consider dressing time (era) appropriate yourself! 3. Plan your lunches. Discuss the foods that would have been available then. Try to be historically accurate. Remember, there was little or no means of refrigeration. Some suggestions: meat sandwiches jelly, syrup or molasses sandwiches (not peanut butter - a scarce commodity) homemade bread hard boiled egg cookies, cake, or pie ginger ale, root beer cheese fruits raw vegetables beef jerky pickles milk grape juice Children often carried their lunches to school in tin buckets or pails. You may want your students to make their lunch pails out of empty coffee cans. Two holes can be punched in each can to allow for the wire handle to go through.

Books of Interest


At the Morton Museum: A One-Room School - Bobbie Kalman Early Schools - Bobbie Kalman Schoolyard Games - Bobbie Kalman Games from Long Ago - Bobbie Kalman Early Settler Children - Bobbie Kalman Children's Clothing of the 1800s - David Schimpky & Bobbie Kalman Pioneer Life from A to Z - Bobbie Kalman The Grist Mill - Bobbie Kalman One-Room School - Raymond Bail In the Barn - Bobbie Kalman Rural Schools of Crawford County, Ohio 1820 to 1950 - Sylvia Noblet, et.al. School Days, School Days ,Good Old Golden Rule Days in Richland Co. (Good Reference) At the Shelby Library: A One-Room School - Bobbie Kalman Long Ago and Today - A School Album - Peter and Connie Roop One Room Schools - Laurence Pringle One-Room School - Raymond Bail Going to School in Pioneer Times - Kerry A. Graves America's Country Schools - Andrew Guilliford (Good Reference) School Days, School Days, Good Old Golden Rule Days in Richland Co. (Good Reference) At the Crestline Library: One Room Schools - Laurence Pringle One-Room School - Raymond Bail Going to School in Colonial America - Shelly Swanson Saterman Rural Schools of Crawford County, Ohio 1820 to 1950 - Sylvia Noblet, et.al. Other Good Books to look for: Legacy of One Room School - Myrna J. Grove The One Room School at Squabble Hollow - Rosemarie Hausherr The Amish School - Sara E. Fisher The Little Red Schoolhouse - Eric Sloane



If you have any questions of any nature, please contact us.