In tiny Self, Arkansas, 1926 was a banner year, and the cause for celebration was the construction of the Cottonwood School. On October 2, families, neighbors, teachers, and even County Superintendent W.E. Halbrookgathered for the setting of the cornerstone. I can only imagine the pride felt by people who gathered stones from neighboring fields and labored on the cobblestone craftsmanship. This was a big day, indeed. Women served a picnic lunch, children serenaded the crowd, and officials spoke of the future.Of course, this moment had been a long time coming. The area known as Self, located in Northern Boone County on Dubuque Road, had begun with a handful of homesteaders in the late 1800’s. According to John Riddlesperger III, a lifelong area resident, the clear water, deer, and wild game prompted his grandfather to park his horse-drawn wagon. In 1878 he was deeded 160 acres, the homestead limit, and entered the five-year contract to make improvements and prospect for minerals. That agreed, the land was his for free, except for the taxes. In the years to follow, Walter Matlock, Jack Andrews, Dan Jones, John Doughty, E.R. Pemberton, and others took up residence with their families.

In these early homesteading days, Mrs. Riddlesperger taught school upstairs in the family cabin. About 1883, to house a growing school population, the men build a log cabin on the banks of Bear Creek. Set in a grove of Cottonwood trees, said to be the future origin of the “Cottonwood School” title, the school flourished.

Around the turn of the century, new plans took form. An 1897 Warranty Deed shows that James and Ruth Davis deeded the land to the deacons of the Bethel Baptist Church for “a burying ground and church house.” This simple wooden structure served as the only church in the community until the 1940’s. Each Sunday morning, the preacher would arrive on horseback to preach a sermon and lead the prayers of the people. It also served as the community school until 1929.

The area boomed when the railroad was completed in 1905. Bill Self, who owned the property near the new tracks, converted his home to a store that doubled as the post office of the newly named Self, Arkansas. Although there was no whistle stop, Self boasted a mail flag and depot where farmers could ship hogs, railroad ties, cream, eggs, and other goods to Carthage. To serve this purpose, they built a railroad siding and several livestock pens at the intersection of Dubuque Road and the railroad.

As the town grew, Barnes Store replaced Bill Self’s business, and George Sharpe took over as postmaster in a new store. Business was good, and the population was growing. With an ever-increasing number of children, Self residents soon began to see the need for a larger school.

First, E.R. Pemberton offered his property half a mile from the railroad. He didn’t deed it; he merely allowed the school to be built there with the condition that the property would revert to the Pemberton family if the school closed.

Eager to begin, J.H. Riddlesperger, J.R. Doughty, and G.M. Sharpe formed the building committee; E.R. Pemberton, E.G. Dickey, and Lon Murphy signed on as directors; and expert builders Charles Kennedy and Tom Morris joined the effort. The community then set to the task of gathering building materials. Lumber came from large groves of pine trees, referred to as “the pinery”, that were taken to the Omaha sawmill. People gathered rocks from their land and donated the labor.

The result was a Craftsman style building situated across the road from his and hers matching cobblestone outhouses. Inside, the school contained two cloackrooms and an eighteen-inch high stage covering the entire south wall. The pine tongue-and groove floor, vaulted ceilings, and ribbons of large windows along the east and west walls made it a real show place.

Outside, key features included a ninety-foot well, a metal tile roof, a school bell for the front porch, and, centered above the porch, a concrete name slab with “Cottonwood #45” spelled out in small stones. As a finishing touch, 1926 pennies were embedded there to mark the date of completion.

When school started, Miss Hattie Brown welcomed students from the first to the eight grades. She taught all week, staying nearby, and took the train back to Zinc on the weekends.

By 1930, there were seventy students enrolled. Coming from far and near, children needed better access to school. George Sharpe began to run a school wagon team to pick up the children of the Whites, the Sears, the Hulens, the Browns, and the Riddlespergers. In 1932, people donated labor and built a swinging footbridge that fastened with two-inch cables to the creek bluff. This way, even those who lived in the valley across Bear Creek could make it to school when the rain made the waterway otherwise impassible.

After Miss Brown left, teachers included Mary Waltrup (said to be ready with a ruler for whipping kids who misbehaved, Eva Riddlesperger Wilson, Orpha Ashby, Audrey Riddlesperger Hawkins, Geneva Fancher, and Betty Doughty.

During each school year, students continued competing with children from nearby schools. They loaded onto a flat bed truck and bumped along the six miles to Bluff Springs. The children ciphered, spelled, and recited to prove their book learning. Then, they raced, jumped, and played ball to show their athletic prowess. It was an all day affair.

Throughout the year, Cottonwood School was also a center for various community events. Neighbors brought fiddles and guitars on Saturday nights for music, singing, and storytelling. To raise money for community needs (such as the livestock “dippin’ vat”) or to help a needy family, they held pie suppers on the school grounds.In the summer of 1936, the government (loaded with a surplus of cotton) subsidized a mattress factory at the school. With cotton, ticking, and needles supplied, the Self residents went to work and were able to upgrade their old feather beds.

The Depression and severe drought, however, began to take their toll. Farmers, unable to make a living or feed their families, gradually moved away. By 1938, there were only eight students enrolled in the school. By 1945, the final year of the school’s operation, the number of students had dwindled to four.

The closing of Cottonwood School #45 signaled the end of Self, Arkansas. Although Leonard Pemberton continued the Self Post Office from his home until 1954, Sharpe’s store had closed, and the railroad commerce had dwindled. The school stood empty or was used as a hay barn, until the Pemberton family began to renovate it in the 1970’s. Steve and Fran Horenski bought the property in 1980 and began the final conversion from school to residence. We bought the home in the mid-1990s and completed the restoration to the school’s exterior, and in 2001 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.