1897 Enumeration for School Purposes
Transcribed by Martha Bushong
Early schools of Noble County were located about two miles apart, each way, making nine in a congressional township. A congressional township was six miles square. Beginning in the northeast corner of the township, schools were numbered beginning with number one, then going across and back until number nine was located in the southwest corner. However, lakes, rivers, and other obstacles often prevented this ideal arrangement. Often times a man with a large family built a school house on his own land for his and his neighbor's children. The trustees would then take over the maintenance of the school and supply a teacher. For that reason, some townships had more than nine schools.