Central School, also known as Hickory Grove School, is a historic

one-room school One-room schoolhouses, or One-room schools, have been commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, and Spa ...

house located northeast of

Canton, Iowa Canton is an unincorporated community in Jackson and Jones counties, Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the ...

, United States. It is one of over 217

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

structures in Jackson County from the mid-19th century, of which 12 are school buildings. This school building was built in 1868, possibly by G.W. Kelsall or Issac Wilmer McCullogh, who were local

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

s. The stone blocks that were used in the construction of this rectangular structure vary somewhat in shape and size, and they were laid in courses. What is unusual about the stone used here is that they are long and narrow, compared to the other buildings. with The stones used at the corners are somewhat larger. The

window sill A windowsill (also written window sill or window-sill, and less frequently in British English, cill) is the horizontal structure or surface at the bottom of a window. Window sills serve to structurally support and hold the window in place. The ...

s and

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 ...

s are dressed stone. The stone used for this building was quarried about a mile north of here. A name and date stone are located on the east

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 ...

, above the door. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1992.

References

School buildings completed in 1868 One-room schoolhouses in Iowa Vernacular architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Jackson County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Iowa School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa {{JacksonCountyIA-NRHP-stub