Twenty years ago this summer, the last one room school houses closed in Union County.  Remnants of an era of rural education, the one room school became a victim of school district consolidation.
    The last one room schools were located at Friendship and Center Hill in Union County.  At the close of the 1958-59 school year, there were 15 school districts in Union County.  At the end of the 1978-79 term, there were seven.
    One room school houses still stand in Union County.  One is the Tripp School, located near the intersection of Routes 146 and 127.  It has been converted into a church.
    One room schools played a significant role in Union County's educational history.  Many years ago, there were almost as many schools as there were communities in the county.  As recently as 1946-47, there were 58 one-teacher elementary schools in the county.
    Union County's first school was established around 1817 at Dogtooth Bend.  Classes were taught by "an unknown Irishman" according to one history.  Winstead Davie later established a school south of Jonesboro.
    The county's early teachers often had no more than an 8th grade education.  Six to eight weeks at Southern Illinois Normal University in Carbondale was considered exceptional training.  Teachers learned the basics of arithmetic, reading, writing and spelling.