Schoolhouse Interior

Pupils' desks face the teacher's in the schoolhouse.

NPS Photo/John Tobiason

Quick Facts

Location:

West Branch, Iowa

Significance:

Part of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

Amenities

3 listed

Audio Description, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

Miss Lizzie Chandler taught "Bertie" Hoover for first and second grade. Each day, Miss Chandler filled her blackboard with lessons of arithmetic and spelling. Students shared reading books, and practiced penmanship on slate chalkboards. Herbert also came to admire presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose portraits hang on the schoolhouse walls, as men of exceptional character.

The only source of heat in this schoolhouse came from a pot-bellied wood stove located at the back of the room. The eight large windows let in lots of natural light, but on cloudy days, it was the kerosene lamps that helped to brighten the room.