Nessel School photographed in 1995.

Nessel School photographed in 1995.

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District No. 32, Nessel School
DISTRICT FORMED 1853
YEARS SCHOOLS BUILT 1865
GENERAL LOCATION Southeastern part of Cottage Grove
MODERN ADDRESS Located north of Hwy. 61 near Hwy. 10.
DISTRICT BOUNDARIES N/A
DISPOSITION Still Exists
NOTES
  • History of the school is hazy. It closed sometime between 1899 and 1938. There was a new school built in 1865.
  • The first school was held in the James Patten home with 16 students. The following year it was held in the home of John Inky.
  • For several years the school was held in a carpenter shop.
  • Enrollment in 1898 was 15.
  • The bell in the belfry was the first fire bell used in St. Paul.
MEMORIES: “Miss Bertha Bassman was the first teacher in the new building [in 1865]. The schoolroom was not plastered the first year.” – Stillwater Gazette, July 1899.

Known Teachers:

1858-9: Katie Jones
1859-60: Miss Davis
1860-1: Katie Califf
1861-2: Miss Nixon
1862-3: Lydia Van Slyke
1864-5: Bertina Bassman
1899-1900: Blanche Clark
Other teachers: (before 1898): Ann Lavery, Josian Thompson, J.C. Bryant, Henry Briggs, Emma McHattie, Mary Dawlton, Lizzie Van Slyke, Fanny Pitts, Latischa Rogers, Seth Arnold, J.Q. Mackintosh, Charles Strathem, Laura Wright, Blanche Staples, Alice Pringle, Edith Kemp