Perhaps, this is a good period to review the history of public education in our town. Sparks records in his History of Winneshiek County, written in 1877, that it was many years after John Case's tuition classes held during the early 1850s until Ossian had a public schoolhouse . The next recorded reference that we can find was in 1866. This year, the Rev. John Wedgewood, the Baptist Minister, was elected to the post of County Superintendent of Schools. He was honored with a dinner held at the home of C. A. Sawyer, and presented with a purse of $100 by grateful Ossian residents. We are inclined to believe that this award was more likely for service as a teacher in the log house, that served as both protestant church and public school prior to 1870, than for pastoral duties.

Superintendent Wedgewood mentions visiting these Ossian Independent School teachers: Mr. Greene, with 32 pupils, in the spring of 1867; Miss Lucy Wilkins, with 46 students, during the fall term; and Miss Wilkins, with 60, early in 1868. Mr. Wedgewood voices his opinion that this teacher is overworked. Evidently, his words were heeded, since by May of 1868, we find two teachers, Miss Bridget McFaheran and Mr. Henry Toye, with 69 scholars in their classes. However, I869 finds the school back to a staff of one, Mr. J. W. Preston, with 67 students making his job quite demanding. Mr. Preston's salary was $50 a month, quite a generous renumeration for a schoolmaster of that day.

The teachers at Ossian Independent in 1870 were: Miss Alice Sawyer, with 45 pupils, and Mr. H. L. Toye with 36. Mr. Toye seems to have been a very popular educator; he was elected to the County Superintendent's office with all but 17 of the ballots cast. Mr. Halleck E. Lucken was his successor at the Ossian school in 1871.

The 32 pupils, taught by schoolmaster Greene in 1867, had increased to 147 by I876, and the enrollment for the year I89O was recorded as 243.

We continue with the account of the Ossian Public School as written by Mrs. H. A. Schulze in 1950: "As we look back over the century just past, probably we see no greater progress than that which has been made by our schools. When our forefathers settled in this community, undoubtedly they had visions of churches and schools as well as of an opportunity to provide homes for themselves and their families.

Official records prior to 1870 are not available, but some of our older residents recall that school was held in a small log* building which stood where the G. F. Gunderson home now stands (1950)- Church services, also were held in this house

The first parcel of land now owned by the Ossian School District was purchased from C. E. Brooks and Lydia Brooks, his wife, in 1870 and consisted of four lots on Brooks street. The purchase price was $100. On these lots was erected a brick building which stood until I896. In 1901 enough more land was purchased from H. T Klisart to make a plot of one acre. More land was added in 1949.

The oldest records available are those beginning in 1875- At that time the school building was a two story brick building. The primary department was downstairs, and the upper classmen were upstairs. The school was in charge of two teachers—P. R. Woods, the principal, and Miss Sara Owens, the primary teacher. Their duties were many, as we shall note later in this article. In 1889» an assistant teacher was employed in the primary department, namely, Miss Bertie Green.

When the farm work was laid by in the fall, many of the farm youth of the countryside enrolled in the town school for the winter months. Perhaps their coming was inspired by desired social contacts as much as for the 'book learning' they received, and sometimes there were so many 'scholars' that there was hardly room