Lone Wolf School District 2
The first school for Lone Wolf was opened in 1901. It was a two room school located where the S. Higgins residence is currently. Probably a Mr. Devans was the first teacher. The first graduate of Lone Wolf high school was Mae Bowlware, May 19, 1911. She taught 3 years at Lone Wolf.
Cold Springs (Wildman) District 5 (was District 108)
Photo courtesy
Lt. Gen.Jerry Max Bunyard, USA (ret.)
Yarbro-Booher Groceries, Cold Springs, OK
O wned by Gen. Bunyard's grandfather, Donald Burgess Yarbro
The town of Cold Springs had a consolidated school with 11 grades being taught until 1925 when the high school was abandoned and the students transferred to Roosevelt. In 1951, the attendance fell below the minimum allowed by state law and the district with Roosevelt. The school building was used until 1972 as a neighborhood center and maintained by the Harmony Extension Homemakers Club. Several almost famous kids went to school at Cold Springs and there were a lot of kids that might have been famous had they left earlier. The creek and mountains made it a marvelous place to grow up as a kid and a real nice place for adults to settle and raise a family in a frontier area.
The School at Wildman, which was a short distance from Cold Springs, was organized and Miss Nell Muldowney of Roosevelt taught the miners’ children.
Mountain Park District 6 (changed to District 4 in 1929)
The first school was built in 1901, by townspeople’s subscription, of the usual frame style, one room, 3 windows on each side, 2 windows and door in the front, located at the east end of Main street across from present Hwy. 183. The first teacher was Levi Frazier. This building was sold to the Baptist church . They used it for about 3 years, then it was bought by George W. King, moved to his farm east of town, where the family used it as residence for several years.
The second school, a 2 story with a cupola and bell was built in 1903. The second building was on the south side of the block where the present building now stands. The next building was completed in 1912. For several years Mountain Park did not carry all 4 high school grades. In 1913-14, eleven grades were taught, with 3 members in the 11th.
The District was changed from #4 in 1929. The building was destroyed by fire in 1953, and the present one was built. It was financed jointly by the district and community. It became part of Snyder #51.
Lone Star District 8 (later Consolidated 8)
Lone Star school began about 1912, was consolidated in 1929 to Con 8. See Con 8.
Cooperton Valley District 10 (Cooperton; later Consolidated #10)
Cooperton School was the center of early community life. The first School was held in the fall of 1901 in a one room building. It is thought that t. H. Maness was the first teacher . Later a 2 room school was built. Cleo Davis taught in 1912, with 12 students and was paid a salary of $45.00 month.
There was the pot bellied stove where you burned on one side and froze on the other. It was a long walk to the out house in the wintertime. In 1920 Union Graded I was organized with Cooperton #6 as the center, numbers 13, 55, 56, 66, 67 and 98 becoming part of the new district. In May this Union Graded status was dissolved and the districts returned to their original boundaries and functioned as separate districts.
In 1925, Nos. 6, 55, 56, 66, and 98 consolidated to become District 10. The first Cooperton high school graduates were Willard Smith and George Lester in 1927.
Sports played a very big part in the Cooperton School. In the early days, they had winning teams, as many trophies left behind can testify. The school sported on of the finest girl’s basketball teams in the county. One of the team members, Hazel Vickers, played with a professional girls basketball team, the “Red Heads”. She was All American for 5 years. The school also had a winning debate team.
School attendance dropped and in 1965, the high school was dissolved. 1972 saw the end of the grade school. Cooperton was the last consolidated school in the county.
Bethel School District 21
Located 3 miles north, 3 west of Lone Wolf, Bethel was a little one room school house, which served as community center and church for the community. There was 1 teacher and two 3 month terms, one in the summer and 1 in the winter when there was the least work to do on the farms. The usual meetings were Sunday School, church on Sunday morning, singing in the evenings, occasional services on Sunday night. Literary on Friday nights during the least busy seasons and a week’s revival in the summer.
Other social life held in various homes consisted of play parties, ice cream socials, candy pullings, watermelon eatings, picnics, hayrides and sleigh rides depending on the season.
Copyright, 1998-2003
Return To Early Schools
Updated October 25, 2003
Background Courtesy Pat Calton