Lyon County

Submitted by Jim Rickabaugh

I attended a one room school in Lyon County. It was called Lyndon Valley, District #61. It was located on Prarie Avenue (extention) about three miles North of what was the city limits of Emporia at that time. It was about one-half mile South of the Neosho River. I attended from first grade through the seventh grade. I started first grade in 1946 and left to go to junior high in town because I was going to be the only one in the school in the eighth grade if I stayed in 1953. I graduated from Emporia High School in 1958. Lyndon Valley operated for a few years after I left and was later closed and used as a meeting place for some community groups.

It later burned down some where around 1960-1962. I have a teacher's grade book that I salvaged from the fire ashes that covers some of the years I attended. I did not see my school listed as a one-room school. Maybe because it actually had three rooms. However all grades were seated in the same room. The other rooms were the hallway and cloakroom and the other room was a combo kitchen and library. That's where the fire started I think.