PETER COOPER SCHOOL

PETER COOPER SCHOOL. Located at 17th and White STREETS (then 17th and Sycamore]], the Peter Cooper School was constructed in 1889 by the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. The school was named for the builder of the first steam engine to operate on a commercial railroad. Cooper was also important in developing the iron industry and laying the Atlantic cable.

The school opened on February 21, 1890 for primary and secondary pupils. The boundaries of the school included all the last east of the railroad tracks between 8th and 20th Street. The building began with a principal, William C. S. Coy, and two teachers.

By 1923 sanitation and location problems faced the school. On March 4, 1924, the Telegraph Herald announced that the building would be closed at the end of the school year.

The structure was relocated to 15th and Maple STREETS and remodeled.

In 1930 Superintendent Earl D. Cline recommended that the building be closed for economic reasons. The school was costing the District $148 per student annually while other schools had an average pupil cost of $90. Dubuque County Superintendent of Schools Joseph Flynn, responding to protests, ordered the school to remain open for another year.

The board of education appealed the ruling to the State Superintendent of Schools Agnes Samuelson. After an investigation, she ordered the school closed. Her study found that PRESCOTT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL offered a better building, equally qualified staff, and a better social environment at lower cost to the taxpayer. The students crossed the railroad tracks at 13th Street where there were gates. A watchman was posted at the crossing.

The building became the PETER COOPER SOCIAL AND RECREATION CENTER.

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Source:

"Abandon Peter Cooper School," Telegraph Herald, Mar. 4, 1924

Kruse, Len. "Peter Cooper School and Recreation Center." My Old Dubuque. Center for Dubuque History, Loras College, 2000, p. 288-290