Stony Point South
Elementary School
School History
William Penn found the Delaware Indians dwelling peacefully in the valley of the Delaware river, and their council fires blazed on the site of Philadelphia. He cultivated their acquaintance and purchased much of their lands.
In 1726 the Delawares refused to join the Iroquois in a war against the English. Finally they were driven west of the Allegheny mountains. In 1818 they migrated again to southwest Missouri, for twelve years occupying lands near Springfield and along the James Fork of White river.
The coming of the Delawares to Kansas was in 1829. Their new reservation, which they occupied for thirty-eight years, not only included nearly all of Wyandotte county but stretched beyond into Kansas with an outlet to the Rocky mountains. This was their dwelling place until 1867 when they gave up their lands and went to the Indian Territory to live among the Cherokees. (1)
Stony Point South School began in 1831 when Methodist missionaries came to the bend in the Kaw River to establish a mission for the Delaware Indians on their reservation. A one room mission school was built about ½ mile south of the present school (pictured left). There were 5 white and 27 Indian children attending the school in 1833, as well as the children of Moses and Anna Grinter (home and family pictured below). All eight grades were taught here.
It was later enlarged into a 2 room L-shaped building. This was the building from 1869-1913.
Picture courtesy of Mr. Jim Converse
The picture below is from 1892 as part of the family papers of Mrs. Meryle Hotujac, daughter of Sadie E. (Grinter) White. She is the dark-haired girl to the left of the teacher. This was the entire student body.
In 1913 a large, two-story 4 room brick structure was built. The 4 rooms served until 1938-39 when a one-story building was added to the remodeled old structure and a combination gym / auditorium was added. In 1931 a school lunch program was started by the PTA which included soup and applesauce to go with the lunches students brought from home. Classrooms were added in 1948, 1952, and 1955 giving a total of 20 classrooms, a lunchroom, and the front office. In 1958, a new building was erected in the North part of the district and was named Stony Point North.
In 1966, the enrollment at Stony Point was 685 students in Kindergarten through 8th grade. Stony Point became a part of the Kansas City, KS District USD 500 on January 1, 1968 and officially became known as Stony Point South School. During the years, the people of SPS community continuously improved and supported their school. The PTA started the hot lunch program with the Dad’s Club. Sports were very popular and the many trophies were proudly displayed. Eventually, the school became strictly an elementary school K-5, with students going on to Arrowhead Middle School and Washington High School.
The 1971-72 school year saw the opening of a new, modern, open-concept building into which moved the 5th and 6th grades and the Library. Both buildings were used until the new building was completed in 1984, and the “old building” was torn down. This is the present day building that is still in use.
There is a lot of pride and history contained within the Stony Point South community. Their school has always been and will remain a very important part of their lives. That pride and history will continue through the years.
References:
(1 )Transcribed from History of Wyandotte County Kansas and its people ed. and comp. by Perl W. Morgan. Chicago, The Lewis publishing company, 1911. 2 v. front., illus., plates, ports., fold. map. 28 cm. [Vol. 2 contains biographical data. Paged continuously.]
Additional facts from:
Betty S. Gibson, Pride of the Golden Bear: ISBN 0-8403-2397-2, pages 95, 117.