SANDSTONE District #83
NE1/4NE1/4 of 16-12-22
Upper Sandstone School was first located on a hilltop one-half mile south of the main road and one-half mile west of the east branch of Sandstone Creek. There are no records to establish the exact date (the court house burned in 1916) but the old timers believe the first term of school was held in 1898. One of the first students, Beulah (FARMER) RHOTEN (still living in community today – 1982) recalls the first school building being sealed with lumber made from cottonwood trees, cut and sawed at a sawmill on the creek. By 1910 the community leaders begin to see a need to relocate the school out on the main road, but the final decision was not made until 1912. The new site, a grass covered flat on the east side of the creek at the intersection that goes north to Herring, was selected and the move began. The work was hard and progress was slow, but by Saturday evening at the end of the first week of work, the little building sat on Sandstone Creek. Sunday School was first held in the schoolhouse there on the creek on the following Sunday.
Ruby (FOWLER) THOMPSON has a small brochure which was printed for the school year 1915-16. The teacher John B. TRACY compiled it and presented one to each student who attend that school term. It lists the names of the twenty-eight students who were on the roll and the names of those who served on the school board and their successors. Those listed on the board Chairman Carl FOWLER, Clerk C.C. GOODWIN and Member W.S. FARMER. Ed ANDROS was elected to succeed Carl FOWLER and R. E. GOLDEN replaced C.C. GOODWIN who moved away. Professor TRACY had a good sense of humor and a talent for art. When a student missed a spelling word, he drew his picture on the blackboard hanging upside down. Of course, this encouraged everyone to study his spelling lesson. A period of growth occurred in the early twenties and a second teacher was added. With two teachers more room was needed so in 1924 a new two-room schoolhouse was built. A teacher was dropped the fall of 1926 and Harlan THOMAS was hired to teach grades 1-8 and do the janitor work for $125 per month. For the next three years he had the respect and attention of about 25 pupils. He also brought the first basketball to the school. Although they never had a matched game with another school, he taught them much about sportsmanship. The community felt the first impact of the great depression when the 1929-30 school year ended in February and many families moved away. By the close of the school in spring of 1942, only one or two students were left so they transferred to Cheyenne. It did open one more term in the fall of 1945, Johnnie Bell (PARKS) CARPENTER taught that last term with six students answering her roll call. The following year the district annexed to Berlin School and Sandstone passed into history.”
On May 9, 1947 an election was held at the Sandstone Schoolhouse for the purpose of annexation to Berlin and Herring. All fourteen votes cast were for annexation. On May 19, 1947 the order was executed and annexation was completed.
TEACHERS
1942-1944 No school
| ASHWORTH, Johnnie (STOUT) | 1936 |
| BAGGERR. Newman | 1922 |
| BARHAM, Balsam | 1925 |
| BEATY, Frank | 1917 |
| BUTLER, Otho | 1929 |
| CARPENTER, Johnnie Bell | 1945 |
| CRUMAL, Bessie | 1920 |
| DOOTY, Jess W. | 1921 |
| HALE, Ernest | 1923-24 |
| HICKS, Violet | 1919 |
| KENDALL, Ellis | 1920 |
| LAVEY, Mae | 1923-25 |
| LEHNE, Eunice | 1916-17 |
| MILLER, Gertrude | 1938-39 |
| SIMMONS, Mamie | 1930-34 |
| STEPHENSON, Geraldyne | 1937 |
| TAYLOR, Mamie (AUSTIN) | 1935, 41 |
| THOMAS, Harlan | 11926-28 |
| TURBYFIELD, Iris | 1940 |
School Board
| ANDRIS, J. A. | 1925-44 |
| ANDRIS, Joe | 1920-24 |
| ANDRIS, Leslie | 1927-29, 32-34, 45-46 |
| AUSTIN, Josh B. | 1916-20 |
| BROTHERS, Guy | 1936-40 |
| FARMER, W. S. | 1929-31 |
| FOWLER, C. A. | 1925-26 |
| FOWLER, Clarence | 1943-46 |
| FOWLER, C. R. | 1916-28 |
| FOWLER, Roy | 1941-44 |
| GOODWIN, Clyde | 1916-19 |
| LIBBY, Guy | 1930-34 |
| REGER, M. | 1925-26 |
| RHOTON, Jack | 1937-42 |
| STOUT, Seth | 1941-42 |
| THOMAS, Marion | 1935-36 |