This book covers "over a hundred years of school history and over 150 of the common schools of Shelby County which existed in operation from 1827-1948, when the consolidation of rural schools was finally complete." A wealth of genealogical data can be gleaned from these name-filled pages. A brief history of the education system in Shelby County, Illinois, opens this text - "As early as 1787, the Northwest Ordinance included a statement on the schools and the means of an education." Seventeen Shelby County School Superintendents are the subjects of brief biographical sketches. Accounts of individual schools include: Ash Grove, Big Spring, Cold Spring and Herrick, Dry Point and Lakewood, Flat Branch, Holland and Clarksburg, Moweaqua, Oconee, Okaw, Penn, Pickaway, Prairie, Richland, Ridge, Rose, Rural, Shelbyville, Todds Point, Tower Hill, and Windsor. Early subscription schools and teacher schedules, an1876 list of teachers, and much more are also covered. An abundance of illustrations, photographs, maps of school districts, floor plans, and miscellaneous documents are reproduced on these pages.