About Us
History of the Northwestern R-1 District
The present Northwestern R-1 School District of Chariton County was initiated in 1949 when four small communities in the northwestern corner of Chariton County voted to reorganize into one high school district. The communities involved were Sumner, Rothville, Triplett, and Mendon.
After the reorganization and the selection of a new Board of Education, it was decided to build a central high school in Mendon, which was close to the geographical center of the new district. Construction was started in 1950 and the building was occupied in 1951.
Northwestern R-1 is a district of approximately 300 square miles. It is approximately 18 air miles from the north to the south boundary, and approximately 16 air miles from the eastern to the western boundary. The western and southern boundaries are the Grand River, which has two bridge crossings in approximately 25 miles of riverway - one at Sumner on Missouri route 139, and the other west of Triplett, which is the county route M. The district boundary on the north is Linn County and the Brookfield School District, to which Missouri routes 139 and 11 connect us. The eastern boundary for the district runs for approximately 30 jagged miles, not following any particular line such as river, road, etc. On the east we connect with the Marceline School District by county routes JJ and E, to the Keytesville District by county route C and to Brunswick School District by Missouri Route 11. The district comes to a point in the south where the Grand River on our west winds around to meet our eastern boundary line. In the middle of our district lies the Swan Lake Federal Wildlife Refuge, which takes up 12,000 acres of land and causes somewhat of a transportation problem because all of our children must be transported around this area.
At the time of reorganization, each of the four towns maintained an elementary school with grades 1-8, with the upper four grades being transported to the central high school in Mendon. Gradually, each of the outlying elementary districts were closed in an effort to house the entire district at Mendon. This process was completed in 1965 and then grades 1-6 were housed in the old Mendon school building; grades 7-12 were in the high school buildings.
The present facilities consist of two educational buildings on approximately 12 acres of land. The elementary wing (constructed in 2002) consists of eight regular classrooms, special education room, nurses' station, boys and girls restrooms, administrative office space, speech room, media center, sensory room, teachers' workroom, cafeteria/multipurpose room with concession stand, kitchen, and five storage rooms.
The high school wing was built in 1950 (renovated in 2021) and presently consists of eight regular classrooms, music room, home economics room, business room, administrative office space, counselor's office, in-school suspension room, a gymnasium, physical education office, weight room, four locker rooms, five restrooms, special education room, and custodial storage rooms. The first class to graduate from this facility was the class of 1952.
The shop building constructed in 1966 houses Vocational Agriculture, art, and SACC (school age child care) which is an after-school program. This building has a shop, three classrooms, two offices, a finishing room, a tool storage room, three restrooms, and a large storage area.
