By TaraSue Hughart
London, Oregon is located in the southernmost part of the Willamette Valley, on the banks of the Willamette River, originally home to bands of Kalapuya. The current community was established by hardy settlers coming by wagon train to Oregon to settle down on a farm of their own and raise a family.
This was not an easy life for the families. There was much hardship and work as the residents of this southern valley pushed forward, in building a community.
Arriving in 1866, Levi Jones, having children of his own, was concerned about their education. It was then decided that Mr. Jones would become the first teacher for the London School District.
Once the school was established it didn’t make it any easier for most of the children to get to school. The roads were very crude and most families did not have readily available wagons and horses that they could spare from the farm. At first it was not unusual for there to be only five or six students present. Those in attendance likely lived close enough to walk, students big and small would walk as much as 2 or 3 miles, just to get to school. The weather could be very cold in the winter, so school was generally only in session from September through the end of November.
The London area continues to use the London School an elementary and Middle School.
The very first school was just one room. It was located on the Walker Ranch, a small creek on the Carl Small and the Bemis property line. The first families represented in this first school were the Geers, and Bemises and the Rouses. The one room school house is where children from six to eighteen years old were educated. It was important for the older children to help with the small ones, and they did. There was the standard wood stove used to keep the building warm. This meant that wood needed to be cut and brought in daily. There was no indoor plumbing, so water had to be hauled from the river, and an outhouse served as the bathroom. Lunch was brought by the students from home, sometimes in a tin box, or just wrapped up in a cloth.
As in many small towns, the school became a vital part of the community. It represents some of the earliest efforts of neighboring families working together to serve the group and begin building a community.
In 1872, their teacher died. It was then a terrible blow when it was discovered that he drowned in the river during the high waters on his way to town.
As time went on, the London School population grew and so did their buildings. The one room school house has been joined by several additions over the years. Early additions are still a part of the London school, serving as their gym, cafeteria, and library. Many of the students that attend there are direct decedents of the first children that were there many years ago. The London School has been a part of this southern valley since 1867, and continues today to be an outstanding place to be.