Emerson Hough Elementary School is a historic complex located in

Newton, Iowa Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760. It is the home of Iowa Speedway, Maytag Da ...

, United States. It was the first school in the state to employ the Platoon system of education with where students spent half of their day studying fundamental subjects and the other half studying specialty subjects like art. Enrollment in the local public schools increased 57 percent between 1923 and 1927. The district could not afford to build the number schools required using a traditional education system, but they could house twice the number of students in a single building using the Platoon system. The school was named for Newton native

Emerson Hough Emerson Hough (June 28, 1857 – April 30, 1923) was an American author best known for writing western stories and historical novels. His early works included Singing Mouse Stories and Story of the Cowboy. He was well known for his 1902 histori ...

, who wrote novels about the American West and co-founded the

Izaak Walton League The Izaak Walton League is an American environmental organization founded in 1922 that promotes natural resource protection and outdoor recreation. The organization was founded in Chicago, Illinois, by a group of sportsmen who wished to protect fi ...

. The two-story brick

Italian Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ...

structure was built in 1927. The building was expanded to the north in 1993, and at that time the interior was extensively renovated. Only the gymnasium and the front central hallway were not altered. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2002.

References

School buildings completed in 1927 School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Renaissance Revival architecture in Iowa Newton, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Jasper County, Iowa Buildings and structures in Jasper County, Iowa Elementary schools in Iowa 1927 establishments in Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub