Liberty Hall - Lamoni, IA
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 40° 37.453 W 093° 57.127
15T E 419471 N 4497478
Liberty Hall Historic Site Mission: To preserve the home of Joseph Smith III and to share his life story and work in the context of his family, the Lamoni community, and the Community of Christ.
Waymark Code: WMJAHV
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 10/20/2013
Views: 2
Site Phone: (641) 784-6133
Site E-Mail: libhall@grm.net
Site Hours: Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 4 pm • Sunday 1:30 - 4:00 pm • Closed: Dec 23 - February 28
Architect, builder, or engineer: Thomas Jacobs
Architectural Style: Late Victorian
Historic Marker Text:
Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall was built in 1881 and until 1905 was home to Joseph Smith III, church president from 1860-1914. The church was headquartered in Lamoni, and Liberty Hall was a center of social and religious life for the community. According to Joseph III, "Liberty Hall throbbed with life, teeming with the bustling activities of a large and growing family. Birth, death, and marriage occurred within its walls . . . joys and sorrows succeeded each other as days [follow] the nights."
After the departure of the Smith Family, Liberty Hall served as a home for the aged, a farmhouse, Civilian Conservation Corps headquarters, and a private residence. Now restored to its 1900–1905 Victorian style, the home reflects the culture of the large, middle class Smith family living in a small mid-western town, as well as the heritage of Community of Christ.
School Marker Text:
Spurrier School
Spurrier School, once called Black School, dates to the 1870s. It is likely that some of the children of Joseph Smith III attended this school after the family moved to Lamoni in 1881. Originally located two blocks west and one-half block south of Liberty Hall, the school was moved to this site in 1974 for preservation.
One-room schools were common in rural areas of the United States into the 1940's. The curriculum stressed basic reading, spelling, grammar and arithmetic skills as well as moral discipline. One teacher taught all grade levels and all subjects to pupils ages six to fourteen. Both men and women served as teachers. They often lived with a family in the community and were responsible for everything in the school. Responsibilities in addition to teaching included shoveling the walks, getting firewood, cleaning the building and more. Students walked or rode horseback to school. Schoolwork was written with slates and slate boards or with pens and inkwells. Games of hoops, stickball and hide-and-go-seek were enjoyed curing recess.
Another site with info: Liberty Hall Background History Facebook Page
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