The Fountaindale Public Library of Bolingbrook, Illinois has digitized school records, accessible online. To view original documents, visit the library on Briarcliff Road. The online collection includes:
- District Records: District meeting minutes, board of directors’ proceedings, election records, clerk’s reports, tax certificates, officer registries, teacher contracts, textbook lists, rules and regulations, financial records, treasurer’s statements, student enumeration, and literacy statistics.
- Teacher’s Daily Registers: These contain student names, attendance, grades, subjects taught, and conduct. These are particularly valuable for genealogical research.
- School Enrollment Cards: Enrollment cards contain details about the student enrolled including their name, address, age, birth date, grade the prior year, and the parent’s name(s).
See the following to read a history about some Will County Illinois rural schools.
Barbers Corner School
This school used to be located on the corner of Route 53 and East Boughton Rd in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
1871-1896 District Record
1897-1903 District Record
1903-1946 District Record
1947-1950 District Record
1908-1914 Teacher’s Daily Register
1916-1922 Teacher’s Daily Register
1922-1927 Teacher’s Daily Register
1928-1934 Teacher’s Daily Register
1934-1940 Teacher’s Daily Register
1939 School Enrollment Cards
Chapman School
Chapman School was located at the site where a K-Mart later stood in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
1949-1952 Teacher’s Daily Register
This classification register used from 1949 to 1952 details student attendance, subjects taught, grades, and general conduct of the school for Chapman School, District 102.
Old Hickory School
School District 1 (105), Township 37, Range 10 of Dupage, IL. This school was originally located on the corner of Royce Road and Washington Street in Bolingbrook, IL. The site of the school is now on the site of the DuPage River Trail. This school used to be known as District 1 before the 1900 redistricting.
1873-1884 District Register
1886-1914 District Register
1917-1924 District Register
1925-1956 District Register
1931-1952 District Register
1899-1907 Teacher’s Daily Register
Spangler School
Spangler School, District 95, Township 36, Range 108. The school used to be located in Romeoville, Illinois. This school used to be known as District 3 before the 1900 redistricting. Spangler Rural School was located at the corner of Taylor and Weber Roads.
1890-1893 Teacher’s Daily Register
1893-1898 Teacher’s Daily Register
1899-1908 Teacher’s Daily Register
1908-1914 Teacher’s Daily Register
1914-1916 Teacher’s Daily Register
1948 Teacher’s Daily Register
Sprague School
Sprague Rural School was situated at the northwest corner of Illinois 53 and Normantown Road.
1946-1952 Teacher’s Daily Register
Taylor School
Taylor School was located on Illinois Route 53, directly across from where Romeoville High School now stands. At the time, it was considered the most modern rural school in Will County.
1905-1944 District Account Book
1936-1952 District Account Book
Valley View School
Valley View School was the first graded school built to serve the newly consolidated Valley View Elementary School District 96, formed in 1953 by merging six one-room rural schools. Before its construction, students and teachers continued operating in the rural schools (Taylor, Sprague, Barbers Corner, Hillside, Chapman, and Spangler) until the new building was ready. In 1954, the six rural schools closed, and both the teachers and students moved into the new Valley View School.