Schools

“Education was a priority in the community, and the people and teachers worked hard to provide a quality education. They used a model very different from modern schools. The schools were bilingual-English and German. The schools were organized and operated as tax-supported public schools, but the curriculum included Bible history and Catholic readers. Discipline was strict.”

“The school in town was called the Charlestown School or St. Elizabeth School. Struemph School was to the south, Baumhoer School to the southwest, Schanzmeyer School to the east, and the Old St. Elizabeth School to the north (later divided into two districts, with the Hoecker District north of the Big Tavern). These school districts educated all the primary students in an area of over fifty square miles.” -A Trip to Charleytown: The German American Community at St. Elizabeth, Missouri 1880-1920 (2006) by Dale Doerhoff, page 55.

Click on the tabs below to view pictures of the schools and their student bodies.