Frankville School, also known as the Frankville Museum, is a historic structure located in the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Frankville, Iowa Frankville is an unincorporated community in southeastern Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. History The village of Frankville was named after Francis Teabout, who settled here in 1851. The state road was built through the village, and it l ...

, United States. It was built in 1872 by W.H. Hopper, replacing an older building from the mid-1850s. with It is a two-story, stone

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

structure, capped with a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

roof. The stone is rock-faced

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The stones on the front facade are carefully dressed compared with those on the other elevations. The

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

s and window sills are blocks of rock-faced stone, except for those on the front. On the front, carefully dressed stone

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

s and

keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

are used for the round arches for the main entrance and the window above. High school classes were added in the 1920s. In 1958 the school was reduced to

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

and 7th and 8th grades. It closed in 1962. The following year the Winneshiek County Historical Society acquired the building and operated a museum in it. It remains in the community's park. The building's relative uniqueness is derived from its stone construction. The vast majority of Iowa's 19th-century schoolhouses were of frame or log constriction, followed by brick. By 1874 at the peak of schoolhouse construction only 268 were stone, compared to 8,000 frame structures and about 650 that were brick. 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 1978.

References

{{NRHP in Winneshiek County, Iowa School buildings completed in 1872 Defunct schools in Iowa School museums Vernacular architecture in Iowa Museums in Winneshiek County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Winneshiek County, Iowa School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa