The never ending quest for historical information may be compared to a “bottomless well” as all historians will attest, “You never know what you will find.” Such is the case with the Kirk District #14 in the Town of Plymouth. While researching another subject the attendance register for this district Nov. 3, 1873 - February 21, 1874 was located and provided information relevant to students that is the basis for this article.

No photo exists of the pupils that attended District #14 in the above time period; however in the extensive documentation that the Plymouth historian provided was the photo taken about 1928 showing teacher and students. We regret that the names of the students were not documented however the three boys in the first row are the George boys who lived in the area for a great many years. The only other documentation was the girl on the bottom row on the right of the photo was identified as Martha (Frink) Miles. However, let us return to the 1873-74 school records.

The teacher for the time period above was listed at Adelbert Newton with a roster of twenty-four students in the one-room school and the ages of the students ranged from five years to seventeen. The children attending this early school were Mary, Selden, Duane, Frankie, and Mertie Newton (this was two different), Matie, Freddie, Ernest, Charles, Elmer, Sherman, Eddie and Nettie Steward, Dwight Moody, I.J. Wilmark, Morton, Chester, and Harley Frink, Alice Henry, Matie Levee, Orville Westcott, DeVer Ames and Willie Maynard.