Museum - John A. Logan College

Oiled hardwood floors, the creaking lids of wooden desks and the smell of chalk dust in the air, bring the Purdy School to life when children’s voices are added. By the fall of 2002, over 5000 students have experienced a day at the Purdy School which served as a one-room public school in southern Perry County, Illinois from around 1860 until 1951.

Edwin Burbank, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Harold Rice, donated the land to the county on which the school house was built, and four generations of Mrs. Rice’s family attended there. According to tradition, the school’s name came from Mr. E.P. Purdy who helped initiate Sunday Schools in the area and used the school for music and Sunday School classes.

In the 1950s, class at Purdy School ended due to an increasing population and the county consolidation of schools. The building continued to be used as a polling place and community center until 1981 when it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rice who made the school a gift to the John A. Logan College Foundation for its use as a historic building that represents early public education in southern Illinois .

The school building was moved to the campus on September 16, 1983, through the generosity of the Julia Harrison Bruce Foundation. Today, Purdy School serves to demonstrate to public school students a turn-of –the-century school setting, and local retired school teachers serve as teacher guides for the experience. The one-room school atmosphere has been restored with vintage textbooks, slates and chalk, a recitation bench, a pot-bellied stove, and recess games that reflect an earlier time.

The school was dedicated on November 6, 1983, in a ceremony attended by many educators and others who attended or taught in one-room schools. Since that time, the building has been repaired and volunteers have collected artifacts to recreate the one-room school.

In 1989, Williamson County celebrated its Sesquicentennial and “A Salute to 150 Years of Education” was held at Purdy School which included tours, exhibits, demonstrations and other activities that related to the era of the one-room school. Activities at the school have continued with annual fall and spring one-day sessions for students from throughout southern Illinois .

*John A. Logan College




		History of Purdy School


	Oiled hardwood floors, the creaking lids of wooden desks and the smell of chalk dust in the air, bring the Purdy School to life when children’s voices are added. By the fall of 2002, over 5000 students have experienced a day at the Purdy School which served as a one-room public school in southern Perry County, Illinois from around 1860 until 1951. Edwin Burbank, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Harold Rice, donated the land to the county on which the school house was built, and four generations of Mrs. Rice’s family attended there. According to tradition, the school’s name came from Mr. E.P. Purdy who helped initiate Sunday Schools in the area and used the school for music and Sunday School classes. In the 1950s, class at Purdy School ended due to an increasing population and the county consolidation of schools. The building continued to be used as a polling place and community center until 1981 when it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rice who made the school a gift to the John A. Logan College Foundation for its use as a historic building that represents early public education in southern Illinois . The school building was moved to the campus on September 16, 1983, through the generosity of the Julia Harrison Bruce Foundation. Today, Purdy School serves to demonstrate to public school students a turn-of –the-century school setting, and local retired school teachers serve as teacher guides for the experience. The one-room school atmosphere has been restored with vintage textbooks, slates and chalk, a recitation bench, a pot-bellied stove, and recess games that reflect an earlier time. The school was dedicated on November 6, 1983, in a ceremony attended by many educators and others who attended or taught in one-room schools. Since that time, the building has been repaired and volunteers have collected artifacts to recreate the one-room school. In 1989, Williamson County celebrated its Sesquicentennial and “A Salute to 150 Years of Education” was held at Purdy School which included tours, exhibits, demonstrations and other activities that related to the era of the one-room school. Activities at the school have continued with annual fall and spring one-day sessions for students from throughout southern Illinois .