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Prior to settlement,
Meade County was pretty much occupied by open-range cattle
operations, buffalo hunters and other adventurers. The
county was first formed in 1873, but went through different
configurations until it was finally organized with the
current borders in 1885. Settlers, however, started to
acquire land in the Fowler area as early as 1878, and
settlers meant families, and families meant children in need
of schools.
The settlement of Meade
County generally took place from the northeast part of the
county to all points west and south. In 1880, School
District Joint #1 was formed with parts of Ford, Meade, and
Clark Counties, and a school located just south of Wilburn
in Ford County. That same year District #18 was formed and a
school house placed just a few miles north and east of where
Fowler now stands in Sec. 24-T3-R26. This was six years
before Fowler even became a town.
Fowler City was surveyed,
platted and dedicated by George Fowler, owner of the land,
which was a part of the northwest quarter of Section
6-T31-R26; plat filed May 1, 1886. Fowler City was duly
organized and incorporated, and flourished for a time, but
unfortunately, when the county gradually depopulated because
of hard times, Fowler became dormant, and remained so for
many years without city government. The town, however, was
never abandoned, because it was always a strong trading
point. In April, 1908, it was reorganized and municipal
government again established under act of the Legislature of
1907. At that time Fowler had a population of 345.
District #18 became the
Fowler School when the one-room schoolhouse was moved and
located in Lot 2 (original townsite) in the north part of
Fowler. School opened in the fall of 1886, under the
supervision of one teacher. During the years 1886 to 1900,
the school had an enrollment of about 12 to 24 pupils. The
school term was generally six to eight months.
The first high school
courses were offered in 1906, when the
Friends Academy was
opened. It was under the supervision of the Friends Church,
but financed by the community. The Academy was opened in the fall
of 1906, with Henry Townsend in charge. There were two
teachers, Mr. Townsend and his wife. During the Academy's
six years, the enrollment ranged from 31 to 60 students per
year.
A public high school was
opened in Fowler in 1911, and a majority of students went to
the public school, which forced the Friends Academy to close
after 1914, because of decreased enrollment. |
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In about 1900, a new
grade school building was erected, and school was conducted
there until 1911, when a new brick building costing $15,000
was erected in the middle of Lot 2. This was known as the
Lincoln Grade School building. Both grade and high school
classes were conducted in this building and the old frame
building was sold to the Eaton family and moved to another
location.
In about 1916, the
Methodist Church was purchased and used for the first three
grades. As there was no gymnasiums in either building, all
athletics events were out-of-doors games.
St. Anthony Catholic Church also opened a
parochial school in 1916. The
back of the church was used as a classroom facility for four
years until a new school was built near the church in 1920. |
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By 1923, the new high
school building had been erected at a cost of $58,931. The
Methodist Church was sold to Jim St. Lawrence. The high
school classes moved into the new high school and the first
eight grades were placed in the Lincoln Grade School
building.
In 1945-46 the district
was reorganized as District Joint Number 72. A new high
school was erected across the street west of the old high
school building in 1948, at about the cost of $325,000, and
the old high school became the grade school building. A
$10,000 vocational agricultural shop building and a 10-stall
bus barn were erected. During the summer of 1947, a new
football field was opened complete with bleachers and
lights. |
