A Brief History of the School and Surrounding Area
The First School Structure
Just a few years after the end of the Civil War, School District 20 was formed in Neosho County. In 1868, the first school building was constructed out of logs in a low-lying area prone to flooding and snake infestations. Additionally, the railroad claimed ownership of the land the school was built on.
It was decided to build a new and bigger schoolhouse about three-quarters of a mile to the southwest - where the Oak Grove Schoolhouse stands today.
NOTE - This image only represents what the school may have looked like.
The Master Stone Mason
The school district hired a master stone mason from Parsons named George Clark Osgood to rebuild the Oak Grove School out of nearby sandstone at its current location. Completed in 1877, the first class was held there that fall.
"G. C." Osgood owned land on the east side of Parsons where he manufactured brick and quarried stone. He purchased a quarter section of acreage from the Parsons Town Company minus twenty acres that the town company set aside for the Oakwood Cemetery.
In 1882 George Osgood sold a small portion of his farm back to the City of Parsons for a public fairground, which is now known as Marvel Park.
The "New" School
The "New and Improved" Oak Grove School sat atop a hill (no more flooding), located where it still stands today. The primary route used by travelers to cross the Neosho River at Trotter's Ford was called the Osage Trace, which passed directly in front of the school as it continued southward.
Oak Grove was ideally situated as a central hub among the towns of Osage Mission (Saint Paul), Hertha, Galesburg, Jacksonville, Island, South Mound, Ladore, and Parsons. This made Oak Grove School the perfect spot to hold social and political gatherings for the surrounding communities.
Rough and Tumble Times
Seven outlaws rode into Ladore, about 8 miles west of Oak Grove, in May 1870. They attacked and robbed several people and molested two teenage girls. The townspeople formed a posse that caught and hanged five of the outlaws.
In 1871, the Bender Family built an inn along the trail from Osage Mission to Independence, KS, about 18 miles southwest of Oak Grove. The Benders were suspected of killing more than 20 travelers in less than a two-year period.
On March, 26. 1874, 52-year-old Anthony Amend was killed by his son-in-law, John Pierce, during an argument in Jacksonville (about 1-1/2 miles southeast of Oak Grove). Pierce was soon hunted down and hanged by vigilantes.
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