Ft. Harrod State Park in Harrodsburg, Kentucky houses a log one-room school which is a symbol of the beginning of education in Kentucky. A picture of that school is given below:
One-teacher schools (generally called one-room schools) have a distinct heritage in Kentucky and American education. The contribution of these schools is immeasurable; many leaders of our historical, political, and economic society have had their early education in one-teacher schools. In addition, one-teacher schools were social centers for the rural areas of our nation and the Commonwealth.
In June, 1969, the Kentucky Department of Education released a publication, The Little Red School House in Kentucky. According to that publication, Kentucky had a record number of 7,150 one-room schools in 1917-18. That number declined steadily over the coming years (6,202 in 1930-31; 3,964 in 1941-42; 2,999 in 1950-51; 1,116 in 1960-61; and 146 in 1968-69.
The last one-teacher public school in Kentucky was the Josie D. Harkins School in Floyd County. This school was closed in 1987. Below is a picture of that school after it was moved to the Jenny Wiley State Park in Prestonsburg, Kentucky.
