Venango Public School listed on National Register of Historic Places, holds memories for many

Venango Public School has recently been listed on the National Register of Historical Places. 

The school, located at 201 E. Washington St., in Venango and built in 1921, holds much history and many memories for many people, including alumni and lifelong Venango residents Merwin and JoAnn Dodson.

Venango High School sweethearts, Merwin and JoAnn graduated from Venango High School in 1950 and 1953 respectively. 

Back when school lunches were merely 10 cents, the couple recalls enjoying a Coke at the drugstore every evening and a movie every Saturday night at the theatre. 

Merwin’s uncle, Lysle Hopkins, graduated in the first graduating class of Venango High School, the Class of 1922. His mother, Hazel (Hopkins) Dodson graduated in the Class of 1924.

JoAnn’s mother, Margaret (Wiley) Wieland, graduated in 1933. 

Continuing into the third generation, Merwin and JoAnn’s children, Mike Dodson and Debra Bounds, also graduated from Venango High School. 

To bring even more meaning to the now-closed school, Mike met his wife Mary when she moved from Milwaukee to teach at Venango.

JoAnn began the Venango Alumni in 1972, serving as president for 21 years and seven reunions. With the school now closed, they have a reunion every three years at a hotel in Ogallala, the most recent being held last summer. 

History

During the school year of 1911-12, five students began first grade in Venango in a white-framed schoolhouse.

 School consolidation in 1918 required the building of the larger brick school in 1921. 

An election was held on Jan. 27, 1921 to secure $80,000 in bonds to finance the new school building. The bond passed by a vote of 95 to 7 for a new school that would be modern in every way, including electric lights. 

The school board selected the site for the new school, siting it east of the two-story framed school building with the entrance facing north. To make room for the larger building and surrounding grounds, the school board bought the block east of the school and closed off the north-south road intersecting the lots to form a large school yard. 

Work on the new building was expected to start on March 1 so it could be completed by Sept. 1. However, a contractor was not selected to build the school until the end of March and it was not completed by the time school started on Sept. 12. 

Nearly forty bids were submitted for building the school. 

Classes commenced in crowded conditions on Sept. 12 in the framed schoolhouse and construction of the new school was expected to last another five weeks.

Despite the new school building not being ready, efforts to provide the district’s children with the best possible education persisted. 

In October, a school bus was purchased to allow pupils in need of transportation to attend school regularly. The ladies of Venango, including the Kensington Club, worked toward securing a library for the school which was necessary for the school to receive accreditation.

When the new building was completed, no classes were held on Nov. 3-4 as school supplies, records and furniture were moved into the building which was hailed as “the best school building in Perkins County.” 

Classes resumed on Monday, Nov. 7, 1921. The new building contained electric lights and “is modern in every way. Machines for the sewing classes are installed, paraphernalia for domestic science, a fully equipped laboratory and typewriter for the business course have been added.” 

The first 12th grade class to graduate from the Venango Public School consisted of three students: Hopkins, Lillian (Noblet )Hamblin and Nora (Harshman) Hoover, who received their diplomas on May 24, 1922. 

Further consolidation of rural school districts led to needed expansion of the school facilities in Venango. Originally proposed in 1953, by 1955 five school districts joined school district 65 in Venango.

In doing so, the number of students attending classes in Venango increased from an average of 30 to over 50.

To accommodate the students, a new gymnasium including a performing arts stage, a lunchroom and a band room were added. 

From community events to school reunions, the Venango Public School continued to serve both the community and school district throughout its history. 

Following the 1991-92 school year, grades 9-12 were sent to the Perkins County High School in Grant, after which the Venango Public School served as a K-8 school until after the 2000-01 school year, when all classes were moved to Grant and Venango’s building was closed.

Shortly after halting public school services, the Venango Public School was proposed by the USDA – Rural Development for redevelopment. The project did not materialize and the Venango Public School has since been in private ownership.

National Register Listing

Venango Public School is eligible for listing in the National Register for its association with the development of education in Nebraska through expansion and consolidation practice common throughout the state in the 1920s and 1950s. 

It is also listed due to its significance for embodying distinct architectural characteristics of a type of school building. The school is significant at the local level between the years 1921 to 1965, which includes the original construction of the main building and later additions.

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s inventory of properties deemed worthy of preservation. It is part of a national program to coordinate and support local and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect the nation’s historic and archeological resources. 

The National Register was developed to recognize historic places and their role in contributing to our country’s heritage. Properties listed in the National Register either individually or as contributing to a historic district are eligible for State and Federal tax incentives. 

For more information on the National Register program in Nebraska, contact the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office at the Nebraska State Historical Society at (402) 471-4775 or visit http://history.nebraska.gov.