Hoggatt School offered open house for local Ames residents on Sunday.

The small, white Hoggatt School building stands on the southwest side of Meeker Elementary School. This one-room schoolhouse was built in 1862 to service the residents in Ames. It was the first schoolhouse in the vicinity. The first students were from two pioneer families: Hoggatt and Fitchpatrick.

Today, Hoggatt School offers lessons to both students from Meeker Elementary School and Ames residents, most of the topics are related to the history of Ames. On Sunday, the one-room schoolhouse museum gave visitors the chance to write on slates and experience education of an earlier time.

Glenn Sibbel, a former elementary school teacher and current volunteer of Hoggatt School said, “We have this particular facility as a museum, this school is open to the public every summer and to the students during school year. This place is such a treasure for Ames people. Students can reserve a time to study the history of Ames. They can call Ames Historical Society anytime to schedule appointment.”

Ryan Riley, a communication specialist at Iowa State University and also a current executive board member of Ames Historical Society, is involved in organizing activities with the students for Hoggatt School.

On game day, he plays games with the kids. He said, “Most of the communities do not have place to educate local history, but here we have this great facility to make it possible. Sometimes they’ll come here to sit and enjoy the weekend.”

Sherry Rode, a visitor of Hoggatt School, said “Hoggatt School is really a nice place to learn the history of Ames. My family moved to Ames around 1980s, we took some pictures of this school, and now I still keep the pictures of this school. We can find lots of memories here.”