Littleton High School

Littleton High School

Submitted by Teresa Rebman

Littleton School Reunion 2014

From Teresa Rebman:

"The Littleton School Reunion will be held on Sat., August 2nd, 2014 at the Littleton United Methodist Church. The church is air-conditioned and handicap assessable. A potluck meal will begin at noon. Bring old pictures and memories to share. Drinks and table service provided."

Littleton High School Diploma of James M. Lantz

Class of 1943

The History of Littleton High School

Littleton (population 197) is located in western Illinois in the north-central portion of Schuyler County. The sits about 15 miles south of Macomb just west of U.S. Route 67 on Illinois Route 101. The West Branch of the Sugar Creek flows by the north side of town. Littleton was platted in 1849 by James Little and William Wendow. It has remained a quiet, "little" town ever since. To read more about the town of Littleton's early history check out the following website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilschuyl/Littleton.html .

The first school house in town was built in 1849 and made of logs. The second school house was built in 1856 and was a two-story brick structure. A high school was probably established in the late 1800s. It most likely served the town of Littleton for about five decades. We believe that the folks of Littleton probably entered into a consolidation effort with their neighbors from nearby Rushville in the late 1940s. At some point, probably around 1949, Littleton High School closed and the children of Littleton began attending school in Rushville.

The following historical account of the Littleton School system was provided to us by Teresa M. Rebman. Teresa tells us she gathered this information from material written in 1976 by Bernice Greer and Robert "Pete" Fulks. She then added the more recent events from there.

History of Littleton School

"The village of Littleton is located in Schuyler County, which was organized in 1825 and named for General Schuyler of the Revolutionary War. One of the first pioneer settlers to come to Littleton Township was David Turner in 1835, and he built his cabin on the N.E. quarter of Section 27. In 1849 Leonidas Horney platted the village of Littleton which was named for James Little.

Thomas Bronaugh taught the first school in Littleton in the summer of 1835 in an old deserted log cabin on the S. W. quarter of Section 21. The first actual building erected as a schoolhouse was built in 1838

The first building erected for school purposes was built in 1838 on the S. W. quarter of Section 19. Samuel Horney was the first teacher in this building.

The Village of Littleton erected its first school building 1849 and replaced it with a two story brick building in 1856. On October 26, 1856, this building was destroyed by a destructive tornado. To replace it, a two- room frame building was erected on the site.

In 1907, a four room, two-story, building of concrete block construction was built to replace the old frame building. A gymnasium was added to the south of this building in 1939. A cafeteria and kitchen was added to the west of the gym in 1949. The Walker School which was originally located northwest of Littleton on the Neeley farm was moved in 1950 and placed to the north of the two-story building.

Littleton High School was discontinued in 1947. From 1948-1967, the Littleton School served as an elementary school with grades 1-8. From the fall of 1967-1983, it continued as an elementary school serving grades 1-6 with a kindergarten class being added in 1969.

On June 21, 1981, a tornado tore through the Village of Littleton destroying many homes, the Methodist Church, and the two-story school building, but leaving the gymnasium intact. Two portable buildings were brought in and school resumed in the fall. However, after using the portable buildings for two years, the school board voted to close the school at the end of the 1983 school year. The township took over the gymnasium and cafeteria, which is now used as the Littleton Community Center.

Every two years there is a community picnic and a school reunion held at the shelter house and park on the former school grounds with the next homecoming/reunion scheduled for August 4, 2012 with a potluck meal at noon."

The following information regarding the fate of the Littleton HS building was provided to us by Ron Arnold:

"I attended grade school at the Littleton school in the 60's. The school nickname was the Littleton "Lions" and the team colors were red and white. The school was demolished because of a tornado that came through town and took the top story of the school completely off. The rest of the school was taken down and only the gymnasium is left. Thanks for the memories."

The Littleton High School building was demolished, however the gymnasium is still in use by the community of Littleton.

Littleton High School Quick Facts

Year opened: late 1800s

Year closed: 1947

Consolidated to: Rushville School District

Littleton HS team nickname: "Lions"

LHS team colors: Red & White

(possibly Purple & Gold)

School Fight Song: unavailable

Athletics

Basketball, baseball, and track, were offered to the Littleton HS boys at one time. Basketball is the only sport mentioned on the IHSA website (www.ihsa.org). School team nickname, fight song, team records, and coach's names are all items we are seeking. Please contact us using the information below if you know of any information that can help us properly remember Littleton HS.

Boys Basketball

The Littleton High School boys brought home a District title in 1937. We did locate some information on a website titled "Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores." These scores are posted below. This is, howver, the extent of the information we have on the history of the LHS round-ballers.

1921-22 through 1932-33 Postseason scores, records, and coaches' names needed.

1933-34 Beardstown District Tournament Coach's name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Browning 23-18

Browning lost to Rushville in the 2nd round.

Rushville lost to Beardstown in semi-final round

Beardstown beat Hersman in title game

1934-35 Rushville District Tournament Coach's name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Hersman 40-26

Hersman lost to Rushville in semi-final

Rushville beat Beardstown in title game

1935-36 Browning District Tournament Coach's name & record needed

1st Rd lost to Hersman 50-11

Chambersburg beat Browning in title game

1936-37 IHSA District Champions Coach's name & record needed

District Scores Needed

Rushville Regional Tournament

1st Rd Beat Macomb 27-26 (O/T)

Semi-final lost to Beardstown 48-16

Beardstown lost to Rushville in title game

1937-38 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.

1938-39 District Scores Needed Coach's name & record needed

Rushville Regional Tournament

1st Rd lost to Astoria 21-15

Astoria lost to Rushville in semi-final

Rushville beat Beardstown in final

1942-43 Postseason scores & record needed Coach Glenn Willard

1943-44 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.

1944-45 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.

1945-46 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.

1946-47 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed.

Track & Field

Though he did not attend high school in Littleton, Tony Stolp grew up there and had a great accomplishment his senior year at Rushville High School. Ron Arnold provided us with the following information:

"In 1975 at the state track meet, Tony Stolp of Rushville High School finished 2nd in the state in the Pole Vault.. What no one there knows is Tony started pole vaulting in Littleton using a solid pole, not the fancy fiberglass poles the big schools use, and was pole vaulting into a sawdust landing pit. I don’t remember anyone else that could pole vault at Littleton while I was in school there. That is a huge accomplishment that I don’t believe Tony was truly given credit for. He now lives in Brooklyn, Illinois. I believe he was the last person to attend Littleton school that scored points at the state level. He was truly one of the greatest athletes to attend Littleton.".

Memories

From Class of 1943 graduate James M. Lantz:

"I graduated from Littleton High School April 8, 1943. Glenn Willard was coach and principle. I believe the school colors were purple and gold. We did have baseball, basketball, and track. I participated in all three. We competed against Brooklyn, Camden, Browning, Fredrick, Huntsville, and other three year schools. I have no knowledge that the school ever had football.

The building was two story having grades 1 through 3 in one room on the first floor, and 4 through 8 in the other. The freshman and sophomore classes were in one room on the second and the junior class was in the other. There was only one teacher for each room. Sometime prior to my entering there a gymnasium was added. The last I knew the main building had been demolished and the gym remained and was used as a community meeting place.

The class roll of 1943 consisted of Warren Steven Copp; Oliver Keith Snyder; Julia Genèva Arnold; James Maurice Lantz;Hildreth LeIsle Yates; and Doren Arlo Lincoln."

Need Your Help

There has to be a lot more to report and remember about Littleton High School. If you have any information regarding the many successes of Littleton High School, especially a photo of the high school building, please e-mail us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. You can also write to us at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva St.

Chicago, Il. 60631