Historic School Walking Tour
7th Street to 7th Avenue
The building that housed the Franklin Medical College, pictured c. 1900. The building exists as Riverside Pizza and Pub today. The actual location is disputed between 101 E. Main Street and 106/108 E. Main Street.
It all started when…
In 1833, treaties were signed with indigenous Indian tribes which opened the Fox River Valley for homesteading. In 1834, settlers started arriving at what is now St. Charles. Evan Shelby was one of the first to stake a claim for a homesite located on the east side of the Fox River. Soon, many other settlers followed.
St. Charles was originally named Charleston and later discovered that the town name was already used. A local lawyer, Mr. Stevens S. Jones, suggested the name of St. Charles, and the townspeople approved the new name in 1839.
With the growth of the new settlement came the need to educate the pioneer children. Schoolhouses were built during the early settlement days, and some were still standing as late as the 1920s. However, as St. Charles Township and the City grew, more schools were needed.
The following Driving Tour lists the schools from 1835 to the present that educated the people of this great City and Township of St. Charles, Illinois.
For a more in-depth history of these and additional St Charles schools, visit the St. Charles History Museum, located at 215 E. Main St. The Museum houses many historic artifacts of St. Charles' history through the ages.
Thank you for your interest in our history.
Enjoy the tour!
St. Charles History Museum
Education Committee
Board & Slab Schoolhouse
Settlers banded together and erected a small board and slab schoolhouse and meeting place.
Key Date School
1. 1836 Board and Slab Schoolhouse
215 E. Main St.
Evan Shelby, the first settler of St. Charles, exchanged eight acres of his prime riverfront property with these early settlers, Dean Ferson and Ira Minard. They helped to construct the town's first dam, mill, and trading post on the bank of the Fox River at the site of where City Hall stands today.
These settlers banded together and erected a small board and slab schoolhouse and meeting place on East Main St. between Second and 3rd Ave. S, approximately in the location of 215 E. Main St. The picture to the right is a representation of a board and slab schoolhouse, built about 1850s in the Township of St. Charles.
1885 Ira Minard chose a piece of land along the town's main street as his home. Through analysis of years of St. Charles Township Assessor's records, it has been discovered that Minard's home stood at the current site of 215 E. Main St. – where our Museum building resides today.
1927 We knew that his original house, constructed in 1885, was moved to make room for the new McCornack Oil Service Station, thanks to an article in a St. Charles Chronicle article from 1928.
McCornack Oil Company was a premier gas station in its time. The gas station was operational between 1928 and 1990.
2001 The gas station was renovated to house the St. Charles History Museum. Before moving to this current location, the Museum was in the St. Charles Municipal Building. The Museum was opened to the public in May of 2001.
https://www.stcmuseum.org/who-we-are
To experience a one-room schoolhouse, visit: Pioneer Sholes School, managed by Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley, is a one-room schoolhouse located in LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve (Pioneer Sholes School | Forest Preserve District of Kane County (www.kaneforest.com)), 37W700 Dean St., St. Charles, Illinois 60175. Please see their website for hours and tours: https://www.ppfv.org/pioneer-sholesschool
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Between 1836 and 1917, there were about a dozen one-room schoolhouses located throughout St Charles and St. Charles Township. These very early schools were often financed by a subscription or an established tuition fee per student. Teachers initially earned $1.00 per week up to $45.00 per week as time went on. These schools eventually merged into the 'new' Public School System of IL, established around 1854.
One of the early benefactors of St. Charles Schools was Charles Haines. He was born in 1844 at his family's home on Sixth Ave. and Main St. and was the only surviving child. His father was Robert J. Haines, and when he passed away, Charles inherited his father’s wealth and property. As a result, Charles became a benefactor to St. Charles. He donated his family homesite on East Main St. to the city with the decree that a combined junior and senior high school be built to serve both sides of the river. This school was built in 1899 and demolished in 1956.
Charles Haines consolidated School Districts 7 and 8 into a new School District 87 with one school board. He served as President of the School Board until his death in 1914 at the age of 70. Upon his death, he bequeathed a $100,000 trust fund for the purchase of educational materials when needed.
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West Side School - one of the first public schools in the state.
Key Date School
2. 1854 West Side School, 210 S. Fifth St.
This school had four classrooms, each with grades 1st through 8th. Students were all together in one classroom. There was a separate room for high school students.
• West Side School was one of the first public schools in the State of Illinois.
• The school was a fine brick-built building with a quill-pen weathervane and tower. West Side School was demolished in 1930.
The Shelby School bell includes a time capsule to be opened in the year 2034.
1911 Evan Shelby Elementary School, 210 S. Fifth St.
• The school was built in 1911 and named after the first settler of St. Charles.
• The old West Side school bell was mounted in the Evans Shelby School
• The Shelby School bell is in the park behind St Charles Municipal Building, 2 East Main St., near 10 E. State Ave. The monument includes a time capsule to be opened in the year 2034.
• Shelby School Served as an elementary school for sixty-five years, from 1911-1976.
• The St. Charles School District used this late Victorian brick structure as their administrative offices from 1976-1983.
• The building provided storage space for the school district from 1983-1985.
• The school district sold Evan Shelby School in 1985. The building was then remodeled to provide office space for small businesses.
• All that remained is the "milk-shed" that was once attached to the West Side and Evan Shelby Schools.
• The "Milk Shed" was used as a temporary hospital isolation ward until 1913.
Key Date School
3. 1856 East Side School, 211 S. Sixth Ave.
This school had four classrooms, each with grades 1 through 8, students were all together in one classroom. There was a separate room for high school students.
• East Side School was constructed for $15,000 and had an initial enrollment of 175 students
• West Side school was constructed for $6,000 and had an enrollment of 156 students
• These two schools reigned on opposites sides of the Fox River for more than forty years.
• These schools were operated under separate districts with separate school boards
• By 1885, the East Side School enrollment was 829 students, and the West Side school had 911 students. The rivalry and competition between these two schools divided the town.
• In 1928, the East Side School was destroyed by fire.
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1928 Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, 211 S. Sixth Ave.
• Abraham Lincoln Elementary School was built on the site of the East Side School.
• Built in 1928, Lincoln School is the oldest K-5 building in District 303.
• In the 1960s, an Art and Music rooms were added to the original building.
• In 2000-2001, an addition to the original building was added for a Learning Resource Center and a new office complex.
1930 From 1930 to the present day, St. Charles has seen a building boom, with people migrating into the Fox Valley. As a result, the Lincoln and Shelby schools were no longer adequate for the needs of the growing population of St. Charles.
1949Through a referendum, high school District 150 and elementary District 87 were consolidated into District 303 and included Little Woods school.
• 1950, Wasco residents voted to join District 303, rather than develop a four-year program of their own.
• The new District 303 was governed by a seven-member board of educators.
• The school district grew to include a comprehensive K-12 public education system covering 57 square miles.
• 1954, school enrollment jumped from 1,350 to 2,000 students.
• 1955, voters approved a bond issue of $825,000 for a high school addition and $660,000 for building three new elementary schools.
• As St. Charles population continued to grow, more were built to serve the needs of growing community.
• 2018, District 303 serves about 13,590 students from the City of St. Charles and portions of West Chicago, South Elgin, Wayne, Campton Hills, a very small portion of Elgin and unincorporated Kane County.
Key Date School
4. 1926 St. Charles High School, 705 W. Main St.
• Formation of a separate - School District 150.
• The erection of the new community high school on Seventh and Main Streets (Currently, Thompson Jr. Hs.) at the cost of $250,000.
• Superintendent George E. Thompson had the Old Haines School, on Sixth Ave. and East Main St., converted into a Junior High School. It remained until 1953.
• 1953, the school board deemed the Old Haines School uninhabitable. Sixth, Seventh and Eighth graders were moved to a corner of the High School until a new junior high could be built.
Col Edward J. Baker encouraged George E. Thompson back to St. Charles to be the Supervisor of the growing school district. Thompson found the school system was $30,000 short of funds to complete the Science wing in Wasco School. Thompson wrote to the Colonel, explaining the problem and a check for the full amount was in the return mail. Colonel Backer added money to the Haines' Trust Fund. This kept St. Charles schools going during the long depression of the 1930s.
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1958 Thompson High School, 705 W. Main St.
In 1958, George E. Thompson retired as the Superintendent of schools after a 39-year career.
• To honor him at an appreciation day, he was told the school was renamed, George E. Thompson High School.
• The school still bears his name as Thompson Middle School.
Through a referendum, high school District 150 and elementary District 87 were consolidated into District 303 and included Little Woods school.
• 1950, Wasco residents voted to join District 303, rather than develop a four-year program of their own.
• The new District 303 was governed by a seven-member board of educators.
• The school district grew to include a comprehensive K-12 public education system covering 57 square miles.
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1977 Thompson Jr High School (Middle School), 705 W. Main St.
• Thompson High School was repurposed to Thompson Jr High School
• A new high school building was built at 1020 Dunham Road named St. Charles High School
• Currently, Thompson Middle School is one of two Middle School in District 303.
As of 2018, District 303 serves about 13,590 students from the City of St. Charles, St. Charles Township and portions of West Chicago, South Elgin, Wayne, Campton Hills, a very small portion of Elgin, and parts of unincorporated Kane County.
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Key Date School
5. 1959 Charles Haines Jr High School, 305 S. Ninth St.
1959, Seventh graders started moving into the first wing of the new Junior High School. It was built on Ninth St. between Indiana and Oak Sts.
• 1962, the second section of the Junior High was completed for eight-graders to move in.
• 1964, the ninth graders were moved into the school.
• 1965, the Junior High School was formally dedicated as Charles Haines Junior High School.
He served as President of the School Board until his death in 1914 at the age of 70. Upon his death he bequeathed $100,000.00, trust fund, for education.
• 2017 Haines closed its doors.
• 2018 Haines was back into service as a temporary extension of the Thompson Middle school campus.
• 2019 Haines/Thompson temporary building became Compass Academy
2021 Compass Academy, 305 S. Ninth St. (In the Old Haines Middle School building.)
Compass Academy is a new District 303 program that opened in the fall of 2021 at the Haines Center.
Key features of the Academy include
• flexible scheduling
• project-based learning
• interdisciplinary courses
• competency-based education
The competency-based model removes "seat time" constraints and empowers student-driven learning inside and outside the classroom. This approach allows students to earn credit toward graduation requirements in ways other than traditional coursework, incorporates real-world knowledge and challenges, and allows students to attain career-related competencies.
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Key Date School
6. 1929 St. Patrick Catholic School,
(George H. Rempe Memorial School)
458 Cedar St. and N. Fourth St.
• Rev. Father Robert J. Carse, a priest at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, was responsible for establishing a parish school for first through eighth grade.
• 1929, Father Carse purchased the land to have a Catholic School built on the corner of State and 5th Streets.
• The school opened on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, 1930 with a Mass celebrated in honor of the Holy Spirit and classes were held for the first time in the new parish school on the same day. 187 pupils were enrolled
1959 March 17, 1959, Father Walter J. Ryan broke ground for an addition to the school. The new addition was dedicated on March 17, 1960, by Bishop Loras T. Lane.
• The cost of the school addition was approximately $65,000.00. It was donated by the Rempe Family.
• Mrs. Anne Rempe donated the funds in memory of her late husband who liked to spend his summers here in St. Charles and was always interested in the development of the parish. The school addition is named: The George H. Rempe Memorial School.
1960 In the 1960s, classes were temporarily held in the first St. Patrick Catholic Church located at 14 N 4th St., built in 1851. The church has been sold and has been converted into a restaurant.
• In 1990, Kindergarten moved to the new church at 787 Crane Rd.
Original St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
2011 In 2011, the Salesian Sisters of St John Bosco started St. Patrick's Pre-school at 458 Cedar St. after all grades moved to the Crane Rd. location.
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Key Date School
7. 1842 Franklin Medical College
Northside of Main St. between N. Riverside and N. Second Ave.
(The actual location is disputed between 101 E. Main and 106/108 E. Main.)
• It was one of the first medical schools in Illinois. However, it existed for only a brief seven-year period.
• George W. Richards, an established doctor, founded the school in 1842.
• During its years in operation, the school offered anatomy, pharmacy, surgery, and obstetrics courses. Classes ranging from 15 to 20 students trained under well-known doctors who were considered experts in their respective fields.
1849 In 1849, one of the medical students robbed a grave from a neighboring town. Those townspeople became enraged and took action to reclaim the stolen corpse. A riot ensued, Dr. Richards was shot and survived.
• The Franklin Medical College closed because of the “Richard's Riot” incident. Dr. Richards moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where he died of pneumonia in 1853.
