Education around Dalton began in the latter part of the 1800's with several
small, one-room school buildings situated around the community. These
one-room schools only taught students through 8th grade. For students to
earn high school diplomas, they had to travel away from the area in order to
attend larger schools, for instance, at Pocahontas (or Thayer or Couch,
Missouri). This was impossible for many students, due to the fact that
Pocahontas was too far for horseback in a day and boarding was too expensive
for many families.
The following information was taken from the 1949-50 Dandy Lion, the annual
for the Dalton School. About 1920 Rufus A. Mock, County Superintendent of
Randolph County, made an effort to consolidate Midway, Bakerden, Oconee, Oak
Hill, Elm Store, Concord, Dalton, and other schools within reach of Dalton.
Due to poor roads and other factors the people were not ready at that time
to endorse the proposal.
This movement was revived, however, in 1947, by a farmers' organization
which met regularly at the store of C. E. James at Dalton. Mr. J. D. Wells
was president of the Dalton Farm Club, an organization whose membership
included practically all the farmers in this area of Randolph County.
Under the leadership of Mr. Wells, and with the hearty cooperation of the
citizens, a merger of the districts was begun. One by one the districts
came in until the Dalton School District is now [1949] made up of Hamil,
Concord, Midway, Blackwell Den, Bakerden, Gladesville, Elm Store, Campbell,
Bluff Springs, Dalton, Oak Hill and half of Oconee.
This merger of districts called for a building program. The school board,
composed of J. D. Wells, Hershel Hackworth, Daniel King, Perry Kirkpatrick,
and Albert Davis, with the assistance of A. M. Shride, teacher, and other
interested citizens, began making applications for war surplus property.
After much correspondence and several trips to places like Walnut Ridge,
Blytheville, Newport, and Little Rock, government property was purchases at
Newport, Arkansas. Fans for air conditioning, electrical equipment, water
fountains, commodes, and a complete steam heating system were secured with
the other building materials. The material was salvaged and hauled to
Dalton by friends of the school improvement program. Some of the people who
contributed labor, trucks, or other service were Albert Davis, Mont Jackson
and son, C. E. James, Judge Prince, W. R. Lee and sons, C. L. Archer and
sons, Daniel King and sons, Hershel Hackworth, Perry Kirkpatrick, J. D.
Wells, A. M. Shride, Oral Chester, Murray Brothers, Remmel James, W. T. and
B. E. Foster, L. E. Lorsbach, M. E. Adams, J. L. Gregory and sons, Cecil
Thatch, Kincade Trucking Co., Rose Trucking Co., Pink Wooldridge, Henry
King, Ed Brown, K. C. Vance, Leo Rickman, Wayne Horsman, Richard Miller,
Perry Baker, Ora Sullinger, Maborn Baker, Arvil Jackson, W. L. Mock, and
others. Mr. Albert Davis and Mr. Ray Bowlin donated the school site, a tract
of slightly rolling ground containing approximately twenty acres.
Construction began April 29, 1948, with A. M. Shride as construction foreman
and Tom Carroll and sons as carpenters. Local labor was plentiful and by
September the building was ready for school to begin.
By cool weather the heating system was ready to function and the deep well
had been completed to supply the water.
During the first school year the students and teachers participated in such
activities as putting concrete floors in the restrooms, setting up the flag
pole, erecting the steel swing frame, making and painting signs for the farm
club, giving a school carnival, and preparing other programs for
entertainment. The four teachers, Mrs. Ada Lorsbach, Mr. and Mrs. Lehman
Mock, and Mr. A. M. Shride were busy but happily employed during this first
year of the Dalton High School, 1948-49.
The year 1949-50 brought several improvements. The school had six teachers:
Miss Mary Belle Horsman taught 1st and 2nd grades, Mrs. Loyd Brown taught
3rd and 4th grades, Mr. Ferrel James taught 5th and 6th grades, Mrs. Lehman
Mock taught 7th and 8th grades, Miss Blanche Irene Rickman taught high
school, and Mr. A. M. Shride was the school principal. The Dandy Lion, our
school paper, was started with a complete staff headed by Miss June Murray
as editor. The first school annual was prepared by the juniors and seniors,
with Miss Rickman as advisor.
1950 saw the first graduating class from Dalton High School. Those first
five seniors were Larry Gregory, Janet DuBois, Joyce Murray, Fern Redus and
June Murray. During that year a public address system was installed, the
lunchroom was completed, and the community organized a P.T.A.
(Parent-Teacher Association) with over fifty active members.
The transportation system during the first two years of the school was
operated by L. D. Gilliam, D. C. James, Rufford Bennett, Carl Lee Taylor,
Ronald Archer, Lehman Mock, Ed Cremer, Wilbur Jenkins, and Ferrel James.
The maintenance employees were K. C. Vance, Mose King, and Ben Wooldridge.
During the 1949-50 school year Dalton became a part of the Randolph County
School District. The other schools in this district included Union and
Ravenden Springs. The Board of Education for the entire district included
members E. G. DuBois, president; Lee Davis, secretary; Cyril Archer, Daniel
King, and Willard Kellett. The county superintendent was Earl Smith.
This first Dalton school building burned in 1954, thus the students attended
Ravenden Springs for a year. The new school building-the one which still
stands today was built on the same foundation as the first school and was
completed in 1956.
In the late 1960s the Dalton High School closed permanently and once again,
students moved to Ravenden Springs. The elementary school remained open at
Dalton until the consolidation of Ravenden Springs and Dalton in 1974. The
new Oak Ridge Central School, which is still open today (though recently
joined with the Williford district to form the Twin Rivers district), is
located half way between the two communities on Oak Ridge Road. I started
first grade in 1974-the first year Oak Ridge Central was in session. I
graduated there twelve years later. We were also the first class to
graduate on the newly constructed stage in the school gym. The year was
1986.
Note:If anyone would like to share their pictures of the Dalton community, Cindy would love to hear from you.