Greene County

 

St. Elmo School North of Republic Named Greene County Historic Site On Monday, Aug. 3, 2009, the Greene County Commission officially recognized St. Elmo School as a Greene County historic site. It was a significant step forward on efforts to maintain the historic one-room school located north of Republic on South Farm Road 31, about one-quarter mile north of Farm Road 168.

St. Elmo School, located north of Republic. Photo taken August 2009.

The nomination came about because of the interest of local 4-H parents (the Jot ‘Em Down 4-H Club meets in the building) and historic sites board members Jacqueline S. Warfel, Sherry Piland, and Rose Cole Jones.

The one-story rectangular building itself faces west and is a wood frame structure covered with stucco. A metal roof was added in recent years.

Four glass transoms are evenly spaced on the south façade. The north façade is fenestrated with two large window groups. The same type of window treatment, in two groups, is located on the rear (east) façade. This type of window placement (large windows on one side of the school with small windows on the other side) was actually recommended by the Missouri Department of Health prior to the turn-of-the-century to have quality sunlight for students doing school work.

The inside of the building contains 4-H memories and awards. The building itself was built in 1885 and the kitchen was added in the 1940s.  The building retains many of the original features, including a wood stove, blackboard, hardwood flooring and the original well and pump.

St. Elmo School reverted back to the heirs of William B. Garoutte on Dec. 16, 1985 since it was no longer used as a school. The building was used as a meeting place by the Women’s Progressive Farming Association for a time. St. Elmo School (District No. 109) was also used as an election voting station until 2007 and this income did help offset minor maintenance and utility costs.  At present the building is used only for meetings of the Jot ‘Em Down 4-H Club.

The Garoutte family was one of the original six families who settled Pond Creek Township. The family can be easily traced back to Marseilles, France, and the early 1600s.

William Babington Garoutte was born in 1820 and died in 1892. He married first Amanda Hazelton in 1841. He married second to Mehetable Tannahill in 1857 and they had eight children.  One of their daughters, Melissa, married Elijah Teague Anderson.  Their home in Republic is one of Greene County’s Historic Sites.

The Garoutte families patented over 2,000 acres in Pond Creek, were founding members of Hopewell Church, and were buried in Garoutte Cemetery.

William Babington Garoutte served as a justice of the peace, he was a candidate for Congress in 1882, and he joined the Confederate Army in 1862. He served with General Price of Missouri and was taken prisoner at his home before Confederate troops arrived.  He was taken to St. Louis, then to Johnson’s Island, then to Fort McHenry, and held prisoner for two years. He lost about $20,000 from the war and labored hard to repair these loses.

He was also a teacher and in 1885 built a school on his land. The school was named St. Elmo, and as of August, it is the newest official historic site in Greene County.

POSSIBLE FUNDING LINKS

I frequently get asked about funding for restoring old schools. The only success stories that I am aware of (for restoring old school houses) have been community non-profit efforts. There are some awards and grants available from http://www.countryschoolassociation.org. However, the amounts are small. Some state tax credits can be developed to leverage fundraising but you would need to get the school on the state historical register first.

 

Information on state tax credits can be found by calling the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-361-4827 or 573-751-7858 of by visiting the State Historic Preservation Office online at  http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/TaxCrdts.htm.