We thought we'd go up there and see the annual Camel Races, but we decided inhaling the dust wasn't worth it. Instead we toured the old Historic Fourth Ward School which was built in 1876 for 1,000 students. It was open until 1936, then stood closed for 50 years.
The classroom sizes back then were around 60, and teachers made about $125 a month. No wonder they used corporal punishment!
The photo on the right shows a typical classroom, with the pot belly stove in the middle to keep the kids warm. The old maps were so interesting, as well as the narrow blackboards.
I got to ring the school bell which was really fun.
Most of the class rooms were set up with historic displays, some showing the mining in the area.
One room had the old typewriters and printing press the school used to print the newsletters.
There was also a Mark Twain exhibit in that room.
One thing I loved were the huge windows and highceilings. All the walls were done with 4" boards in a herringbone pattern. You can kind of see that in this
photo.
Here is a small pic of the front of the school. We also visited the cemetery, but that's
a post for tomorrow!
While we didn't do continuous walking, we did do a lot of walking...and in cowboy boots!
Till tomorrow...
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