Cold Springs

We were in the southern Black Hills doing some geocaching and stumbled upon Cold Springs School and Cemetery. At first I thought it may have been a community at one time and now a ghost town, but that is not the case. Luckily pamphlets were available to share the unique story behind Cold Springs School and Cemetery. 


From the Cold Springs Historical Society brochure...

"In 1887, local homesteaders and ranchers recognized the importance of obtaining an education for their children and the practicality of having a community building. neighbors erected the hand-hewn log structure in the summer of 1887."

"Imagine a school building guaranteed to last over 

100 years and costing only $200.

Add to that a teacher whose salary was $40.65 a month.

According to the annual report of the treasurer of the 

Cold Springs School from July 1887 to June 1888, 

the total expenditures were $240.65 with cash on hand of 64 cents."

"School was in session 120 days that first year, 1888-1889.

37 unmarried persons of school age resided in the township:

26 boys and 11 girls

The first teacher was Maude Drew."

"The school had a double privy."

"The last year of classes was 1948-1949.

The building was abandoned after the blizzard of 1949."

"The Forest Service planned to demolish the building in 1965.

A group of local residents met in Pringle to discuss efforts to save the school.

The Historical Society was formed.

Membership has grown from the initial 13 to over 400 members."

"The Pioneer Cemetery adjacent to the schoolhouse, was established 

by the families who homesteaded the area and built the school."

"Many of the early residents are buried here.

The first burial was Thomas Jefferson Raver who died in December 1888."

"The cemetery is maintained by the historical society.

On Memorial Day and Labor Day, all graves 

are decorated with floral tributes. Additionally,

veterans' graves each display the flag of our country.

Memorial services are conducted on Memorial and Veterans Day."

"It (the school) is a fine example of a single structure serving

many important functions in early frontier life.

It served not only as a school, but also functioned

as a meeting house, church, and dance hall." 

Birdhouses were attached to every fence post on the grounds.

There were a lot of fence posts!

The 'bird boot house' caught my eye.

"Today the schoolhouse displays numerous antiques of an 

educational nature in a museum-like setting. It is

available to school classes who wish to experience the 

classroom atmosphere of the 1880's period."