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Photo credit: Google Maps, dated 2022

The Cole school (Des Moines No. 7) was built in 1888. Due to low enrollment caused by mass migration to cities, the school closed in 1933. In 1948 it was sold to a former teacher who used it as a storage building for farm equipment. Some time later, the DeShon Chapter DAR bought the school noting its historical significance and state of disrepair. Their renovation project finished in 2015 and on July 12, 2019, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Gardiner Consolidated school was built in 1919, dedicated in 1920, and closed in 1958 when the last 8th grade class graduated. The land was sold in 1964 and the building was essentially abandoned. It was used for a controlled burn as practice for local fire fighters on Christmas Eve, 2019, and fully torn down January 2020. In the second photo, circa 1940, Dewey Bradshaw was the bus driver and Joyce (Freestone) McClellan was in the back row wearing a beret. The first photo credit: The Perry News.

In 1920 nine local schools combined to form Washington Township Consolidated School. The building officially opened in 1921. It later consolidated twice more: 1958-1959, with Minburn schools to form Central Dallas, and 1991 when it joined the Adel-DeSoto-Minburn district. As of 2023 the building is slowly undergoing restoration while also being used as both a museum and a community meeting space. 

The Nagle School was built around 1900 and named after nearby landowners. In 1952 the school district consolidated into Ankeny Community Schools and the building was closed. A few years later it was bought at auction for $4,000 and by 1957 it was remodeled (including the addition of the front room) to be used as a home. In the 1990s the family had moved away and a trucking company, Warren Transport, used the property. The building was used for community offices for a few years but it was ultimately left abandoned where it remains as of 2023.