Staunton History

Staunton History

Staunton was one of the first areas settled in Macoupin County. The settlement of the area initially involved people moving up from Southern Illinois. Staunton became organized as a village in 1846, and was recognized as a city in 1898.

Initially, farming was a major industry. Around the turn of the century, coal mining reshaped Staunton and communities around it. The coal mining industry began to decline after the Second World War. Coal in central Illinois has high levels of sulfur. The cost to scrub sulfur from coal is prohibitive. Most of the mines in the region had closed in the 1950s.

The largest employer in Staunton is the local school district. The second largest employer is Community Memorial Hospital, founded in 1950. Many other people in the area work in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

History of the Staunton Elementary School Bell

The magnificent bell, which hangs in the tower
near the entrance to the Staunton Elementary
School is rung each morning to signal the start
of the school day. It was cast in the early 1850’s
by David Caughlan-Saint Louis, MO.

The history of the Staunton school bell began
when it was first used in the three -room public
brick school building erected in Staunton in
1855 on the north-west corner of South Ed-
wardsville and West Mill Streets. This spot was
later occupied by the Presbyterian Church and
is now a vacant lot.

By 1880, the educational needs of the commu-
nity had grown and a new school, later known
as the South School was built on Henry Street at
South Hibbard Street, where the first classes
were held in 1881. The location was later occu-
pied by The Alley’s bowling facility and is cur-
rently the location of RP Lumber Company. The
bell was moved from the original building to the
bell tower located at the north end of the South
School. The rope from the bell extended
through the ceiling of the Principal’s office, from
where it was rung. In 1907 a High School addi-
tion was attached to the south end of the 1881
structure and a separate Primary Building was
added on the same property in 1909.

By the early 1950’s, the South School and its ad-
ditions which had served the community very
well were replaced by the original section of the
current Elementary School complex where the
first classes were held in 1956.

At the close of the 1955 -1956 school year, the
bell went silent, as there were no plans to use it
at the new modern facility. The old schools
were demolished, but the bell was saved from
the scrap pile and came into the possession of
Lewis “Sally” Jacobs, who was a long time
Staunton Board of Education member.
The bell was stored in the Jacobs’ garage,
where it sat in silence for over 50 years, waiting
for the day when someone would realize it had a
lot of beautiful sound left in it. In 2005, Lanida
(Jacobs) Frizzo was preparing to dispose of her
parent’s property. She wanted the bell to have a
History of the Staunton Elementary School Bell
good home and felt that returning it to the Ele-
mentary School where it had served for so
many years would be exactly what her father
would have wanted. Principal Mark Skertich
was contacted and was delighted with the offer
of the bell. He agreed to arrange for the erection
of a structure to house it, so Lanida agreed to
donate the bell to the Staunton School District
in memory of her father.

“Sally” and Belva Jacobs were lifelong resi-
dents of Staunton and most likely attended the
South School for at least part of their elemen-
tary years. Lanida, their only child, spent her
elementary school years at the South School as
well.

Mr. Jacobs, who died in 1998, followed by his
wife Belva in 1999, was a dedicated and trusted
husband, father and public servant. He served
as a Member and President of the Staunton
Board of Education, 4th ward Alderman and
Treasurer of the City of Staunton.

Although structurally sound, the bell needed to
be cleaned, so Jarid Ott, a nephew of Mr. & Mrs.
Jacobs offered to take on the restoration project
and also designed the bell tower.

After many hours of work, the old bell took on a
new look and was ready to take its place in the
21 st Century and the future of Staunton Elementary School.
It was delivered to the school on January 18,
2006 and stored in Principal Mark Skertich’s of fice.