Photo(s) 34,000

Also approximately my 2500th blog post (depending on when this actually goes up).


April 19, 2017

Abandoned schools aren’t unique to Iowa. They’re scattered across the Great Plains. I found emphasis on that as I drove across the southern tier (mostly) of Nebraska’s counties on US 136, then US 6. As is often the case in Iowa, many are visible a mile or more before you reach town.

Filley, Nebraska, population 132, is about an hour south of Lincoln. It lost its school in 1999 in a merger with Adams, 14 miles away. A shade under two decades later, trees had overrun the front of the oldest building (top photo).

Right next to the school was the baseball field with a football scoreboard. Concrete pads marked where the bleachers had been. There’s a modern playground set behind a locked restroom facility for the athletics. The community tried its best to provide for the children.

Filley Community Field
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, Department of Interior
1977

I would see more abandoned schools the next day.

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