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Hillmon School


category : Pioneer History
Hillmon School The Hillmon Schoolhouse was the sixth school district to be organized in Norton County. The school houses were numbered as they were built and the Hillmon School was District 6 in Crystal Township. A family by the name of Hillmon was active in getting the school established. Mr. and Mrs. Dick Hillmon came to Norton County in 1874, and took land two miles west of the small town of Devizes.

The original structure was a combination of log and dugout, and was located in the northwest part of Norton County overlooking the Sappa Valley, 1 1/2 miles south of the Kansas-Nebraska State Line. The school had two windows with a door at the back of the building. The desks were made of slabs of wood with pegs for support.

In 1886, the current building was erected just one-half mile south of the original structure on land donated by David Fawcett. The schoolhouse was a community center and used for church services, funerals, weddings, and many other school activities. In 1967, the one-room school was accepted by the Norton City Council from the Hillmon-Devizes Community. The building was moved to its present location at the Prairie Dog State Park, and in September, 1969, the schoolhouse was officially dedicated as a tourist attraction.


Address: Prairie Dog State Park, 4 miles West of Norton on Highway 36, Box 431
Phone: 785-877-2953

Come visit us in Norton, Kansas

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Norton County Historical Museum

Did you know that Norton County, Kansas, was the site of one of the biggest meteor impacts in the United States? At about 5:00 p.m. on February 18, 1948, there was a loud explosion and fireball approximately 15

Norton, KS Museums

"They Also Ran" Gallery

"What do Stephen A. Douglas, Horace Greeley, Horation Seymour, Henry Clay, Alf Landon, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter have in common? - They all ran for President ... and lost." Although these men and many others in American Presidential History were unsuccessful in their bids to attain the nation'

Norton, KS Museums

Hillmon School

The Hillmon Schoolhouse was the sixth school district to be organized in Norton County. The school houses were numbered as they were built and the Hillmon School was District 6

Norton, KS Pioneer History

Art Deco Theater

Norton volunteers have rennovated the old Art Deco Theater in Downtown Norton, and enjoy providing the popcorn while you relax and watch movies.

Norton, KS Theatres

Adobe House

Tourists will relive a bit of the past when they visit the Adobe House located at the Prairie Dog State Park. This earthen-walled structure is the only one in Kansas on its original location and preserved as a museum. As near as can be determined, the house was constructed in 1892

Norton, KS Pioneer History

Things to do Pioneer History near Norton, KS

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