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Aden School - Hamilton County, Illinois

This school was located in Beaver Creek Township near the intersection of County Roads 2300N and 1300E. It was an active school from 1894 to 1973. It served grades __ to __.
The following information about the Aden school was extracted from the 15 April 1991 Wayne County Press article by Lena F. Taylor titled "SOME HISTORY OF THE LOWER HILLS, Now known as Aden." The following information about the Aden school was extracted from the 10 May 1956 edition of the McLeansboro Times-Leader article titled "ADEN CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT NO. 105 SCHOOL BUILDING TO BE READY FOR OCCUPANCY WITH NEW TERM IN FALL."

The Lower Hills School #1 was located a quarter mile south from where the old Aden school stands today. This school was still in session in 1896. Ana Hall was the teacher. There were 71 pupils attending at this time, twenty-eight males and forty-three females. (Leslie Taylor's father and one of Mavis Hall's aunts were attending school at this time.) The daily attendance was 54 1/22. Teachers' salary per month was $23. This school was built of logs with puncheon (split logs).

The name of Lower Hills was changed to Aden Feb. 15, 1894, according to Sneed's book and as there seems to be no known date for sure. I must believe this date is close, if not right. Leslie Taylor remembers being told by George Isaacs that Aden was named after a school teacher that stayed at the home of his father, James Isaacs.

According to a couple of residents, an old school (not log) was moved from where John Hutchcraft ran the store to where the Robert Musgrave homestead once stood. They then built a shed on each side and used it as a barn. The blackboards were painted boards. The name of this school is unknown. But wondering if it could have been the first Aden school.

Just when the Aden School Dist. #4 was built is not known for sure. But two residents remember hearing Henry Garrison saying he went his first year to the new Aden School. This is believed to have been around 1910. The Lower Aden School Dist. 59 was built about the same time. The Lower Aden School was located a mile and a quarter east and a half mile south of the Aden School. Leslie, Mavis and Bernadine remember being in school when there were eighty pupils in schools one year, the largest attendance of any rural school in Hamilton County at that time.

A new Aden Community Consolidated Dist. #106 was built in 1958, a little over a mile from the old Aden School. All the small schools closed at this time. Schools closed were Lower Aden, Aden, Ellis Mound, Garrison, Belle Prairie, Dog Town and Lakeside.

The Aden Community Consolidated School #106 closed it doors around 1973. Part of the children went to Beaver Creek and the rest to Oak Grove School. The Aden School #106 was sold and was made into a machine shed.

After the school was gone, there was no longer a gathering place where all could socialize other than their two churches, Friendly Zion and Ellis Mound. All that's at Aden today is five houses, the church and the old Aden School.

The Lower Aden School, along with two houses in the community, burned when some men came about 5 a.m. about twelve years ago. Now there are only memories of a once bustling place. And all the bottom land north and south is being farmed.

The patrons and pupils that live in Aden Community Consolidated school district No. 105 are in a unique situation in Hamilton County. They live in a "natural consolidation." That is to say, Geographically they are thrown together.

By being bounded on the north and east by Skillet Fork, on the east by Haw Creek and on the south by the wooded bottoms that make up the drainage districts, the people naturally work together for their educational opportunities.

The consolidated district was organized in June 1953 with six common school districts included: Garrison, Aden, Lower Aden, Ellis Mound, Maulding and Belle Prairie. But before the next school term started, Maulding and Belle Prairie withdrew.

At the present time, the district is composed of Garrison, Ellis Mound, Aden, Lower Aden and Maulding (which reconsidered and annexed to the consolidation in the summer of 1955). Ellis Mound lies partially in Wayne County. At the present time, there are two attendance centers being operated by the district: Grades 1 through 4 attend Ellis Mound and grades 5 through 8 attend Aden.

Gilbert Wilson, veteran Hamilton County teacher, is superintendent of the consolidated district and teaches at the Aden center. He has 22 pupils.

Mrs. Gale Thomason teaches at Ellis Mound and has 29 pupils, making a total of 51 that attend the Aden Community Consolidated schools.

Mrs. Thomason is a well-qualified and experienced teacher. She is from Wayne County and has taught in schools there for the most part, but also has taught in Hamilton County schools in the past.

The bus driver for the school is W. P. Davis.

Mr. Wilson has taught a total of 23 years in Hamilton County schools, 13 years of that time at the Aden school.

Early in June, 1955, the patrons of the district approved a $55,000 bond issue to erect a new school building. Actual construction began on the new structure about six weeks ago.

It is located on a natural site about one mile west of Aden which puts it about three miles off the State Route 142 north near the Aden fire tower. The site is a 10 acre tract which is a beautiful setting for a new school.

It will contain three classrooms, kitchen, modern heating plant, modern restrooms and drinking fountains and a gymnasium-auditorium-all purpose room.

R. E. Fisher of Ina is the contractor and is making rapid progress on the building. It will be ready for occupancy for the new school term next fall.

The present building at Aden is a one-room structure in excellent repair. It is well-equipped with a good collection of books, maps, pictures and other study aids. There is also a piano.

The room is of ample size, well lighted, well ventilated and heated and a comfortable place in which to receive an education.

Most of the students attending the school live in the Wayne City high school district and attend high school there. Maulding is the only district in the McLeansboro township high school district.

Mr. Wilson says there are no pressing problems in the district at the present time. The evaluation is ample and the enrollment is expected to remain about the same next year.

"Of course, we are all looking forward to moving to the new building," he said. "There we will be able to add a hot lunch program, adopt a year-round physical education program, add a Parent-Teachers association and cut out transportation costs by all being under one roof."

The present board of education of district no. 105 is composed of Lloyd Hall, Cecil Musgrave, Dain Hall, Wayne Hutchcraft, Robert Coy, Clyde Hall and Donald Morris.

The board for the first term was much the same except Burl McCormick was a member instead of Coy. The important business of educating the children of the district will become more pleasant and easier with the completion of the new structure.

The entire county joins the good people of Aden Community Consolidated No. 105 in looking forward to that day.

Below is a list of the available documents / photos for the school. Click on each link to load that page. Close the page that opens to return to this page.  The links are arranged oldest to newest, left to right and top to bottom within each category with all unknown year items placed at the end.

Structures
Early Building
(one room).
1922 School & Friendly Zion Church Buildings Unk Year, Building (1) Unk Year, Building (2)    
Class Pictures
1912-13 Teacher: Vernis Lasater 1949,
Teacher: Gilbert Wilson
1953, 1st Grade,
Teacher: Gilbert Wilson
1952-53,
Teacher: Gilbert Wilson
1953-54,
Teacher: Gilbert Wilson
1960, Teachers:
Treva Daily, Bill Smith
1960-1, Grades 7-8,
Teacher: Bill Smith
1961, 8th Grade Graduation 1962, Grades 4-6
Teacher: Ossie Thompson
1962-3, Grades 1-3
Teacher: Helen Owen
1962-3, Grades 1-3
Teacher: Treva Daily
1962-3, Grades 4-6
Teacher: Don Sutton
1962-3, Grades 7-8
Teacher: Bill Smith
1969-70, Grades 1-3
Teacher: Nina Bishop
1969-70, Grades 4-6
Teacher: Richard Storer
1969-70, Grades 7-8
Teacher: Bill Smith
Unk Year 1
Teacher: Estella Perry
Unk Year 2
Teacher: Treva Daily
Sports
1950 Basketball Team,
Coach: Gilbert Wilson
1961-2 Basketball Team & Cheerleaders Coach: Albert Severs 1961-2 Cheerleaders (1) 1961-2 Cheerleaders (2) 1962-3? Cheerleaders (1) 1962-3? Cheerleaders (2)
1965-6 Basketball Team 1969-70 Basketball Team Unk Year Basketball Team & Cheerleaders      
Documents
           
Miscellaneous
           

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