Lincoln has always had a keen interest in education. Finding places for students to learn has always been a challenge to the educational leaders in this community. The first public school in Lancaster Colony was in the dugout home of John Cadman in 1865. In 1866 a stone seminary located at 9th and P streets, the present location of the Lincoln Journal and Star newspaper, was turned into a school for about 30 children.
In the fall of 1867, a small school was built at 11th and Q where George W. Peck taught the first school in what was now known as Lincoln. For a fee of 50 cents a month, 35 students received their education in the school that was referred to as the District School. By 1868, sixty-five students were enrolled in the school and Lincoln began its history of quickly outgrowing its school facilities. The Methodist Church located at 10th and Q was purchased and Lincoln suddenly had two schools. The school district had begun its growth and its commitment to children that remains today.
The historical information presented about LPS schools in this LPSpedia was originally researched and gathered by Mike Callaghan and Kathi Friesen of the Lincoln Public Schools Library Media Services.
Often students, parents, and other community members seek information including dates of opening and closing, locations of the schools, and how individual schools were named. Included are several Lincoln Public Schools programs that although not schools by legal definition are, or have been, housed in separate facilities.
A number of schools at the beginning of Lincoln’s history are not included because historical documentation is very limited or, in fact, non-existent. These schools were often short-lived or one-room, cabin schools such as East J Street School, West J Street School, McCall School, Grandview School, and South School. However, the history of education in our community can be relived through the information presented here.
A special thanks to Mike Callaghan and Kathi Friesen who provided this information in the original document ‘How the Lincoln Public Schools Were Named’ published in 2000.
