Dacotah Prairie Museum

Where did Uncle Yam go? Can you help us find him?

Single room schoolhouses were integral to the rural communities because they were the only form of formal education available to farm communities. The first Aberdeen school opened on August 29th, 1881, only one month after the city itself was founded. It was a 9 by 12-foot chanty on 3rd avenue built specifically for education. This school’s first teacher, Mrs. Eleanora (C.H.) Plesants, started the school year teaching 9 students and increased by the end to around 23. At this time, school terms were much shorter, often only around 2 months and held 2 to 3 times a year.

Leo’s Favorite Part: My favorite part of this exhibit is the school house area. I think sometimes we as a community, especially younger generations, don’t realize how much we’ve advanced over only a little more than 100 years. We went from a 9 x 12 foot shack, to our current Central High School being bigger than a football field and capable of holding up to 1,400 students. We’ve also upgraded how we learn. It used to be with chalk boards, now we have a host of new technology at our finger tips that can make learning more accessible.

Emmy’s Favorite Part: My favorite part of the exhibit has always been the dress-up corner inside of the farmhouse. I loved playing dress-up in this exhibit when I was younger, and I am happy that that aspect was kept after the revamp. Pioneers were often limited in their clothing choice, from materials to amount, and much of their own clothing was handmade.