South Peru School

1900- The town fathers conducted a meeting in 1900 to build a four room brick school with a furnace in the hole in the basement. There were two rooms up, two rooms down, oil lamps, a pump in the basement where each child could pump his or her own water. All eight grades were to be taught here. Outside facilities were the order of the day. Parents brought their children to school in horse and carriage or by horseback. The South Peru community grew with the times. The school built inside facilities, a basement underneath the whole building was dug out and an auditorium was built. A kitchen, a storage and furnace room was also built. Gas lights and water fountains were installed by the end of World War I in 1919. By the end of the Second World War, the school had electric lights, two globes for each room, radios for each room, a large phonograph for the building and the school lawn landscaped with grass in front, rather than a mud hole.

During the Korean War indirect lighting was added, shades and electric clocks were installed. A small inside bell was used through the 1950's. The South Peru School became so crowded that plans were made to build a new school overlooking the park. November 17, 1957, the cornerstone was laid for the new school. In 2006, a grocery store has replaced the old South Peru School.