150th anniversary for Shiloh one-room schoolhouse

Shiloh School, located on the grounds of the Liberal, Mo. public school, celebrated its 150th anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 19th.

A variety of activities were featured including a flag ceremony, the Pledge of Allegiance, the ringing of the schoolhouse bell, a visit by Missouri State Representative Ann Kelley and more.

Shiloh served as a school for students from 1869 to 1952. Over the years, the school also was the location for reunions, meetings, church services, voting, wedding showers and funerals. It was even a stage coach stop between Lamar, Mo. and Ft. Scott, Kan.

In September 2004, Shiloh School was moved from the Drywood area, 6 1/2 miles northwest of Liberal, to the Liberal School grounds. The moved was deemed necessary to better protect and use the oldest remaining one room school in Barton County. Shiloh was restored, reopened and dedicated on Sept. 17, 2005.

An informational booklet delves into the school’s origin. It was a blessing born out of the grief of the American Civil War. The benefactor of the school was a wealthy and heartbroken widow who had lost her son in the war.

Minerva Connor was a illiterate pioneer woman. When she was 15 years old, she married John Connor not long after he mustered out of the Army at Fort Scott, Kansas in 1859. William, the couple’s eldest son, enlisted in the Army in 1861. John joined the Confederate Army and fought in the battle of Carthage before resigning, convinced of the eventual defeat of the South.

Although Minerva believed her son died in the battle of Shiloh in 1862, he actually was wounded, captured and sent to prison in New Orleans. He was treated in various hospitals until dying on Sept 22, 1862 in Mississippi. In 1865, Minerva’s husband John was killed in a dispute over a load of hay.

Minerva’s brother, John Apperson, struck it rich in the gold fields in California in 1849. After the war, he left his sister enough money for her to be considered wealthy.  She eventually funded and named a school “Shiloh” in honor of the final resting place for the soldiers who died in that battle.

The event on Saturday was sponsored by the Shiloh School Preservation Committee. Donations may be sent to the Shiloh School fund c/o D.O.G.S. Foundation – Shiloh Preservation Fund, P.O. Box 95, Liberal, Mo 64762.