The Adena School is the only remnant of this small agricultural community. Its post office was in operation from 1910 to 1947, but a date range for the school has been lost to history.
The place was named after Edna Adena, who was the sweetheart of an early settler in the area. Most of the first settlers were from Illinois and Nebraska. Other than the long-abandoned school, there are several foundations, some concrete, indicating where the town once sat.
Schools: Adena and Aroya schools.
Where: The Adena School is situated along Morgan County Road 14 a half-mile north of the Morgan-Adams county line. The Aroya School is located in Cheyenne County west of Wild Horse and approximately a mile south of U.S. 287/40 with its intersection with Colorado 94. It is immediately south of the Union Pacific tracks on County Road 2.
The Aroya School is a beacon in the endless, flat Colorado prairie and was once part of Cheyenne County District No. 9.
The exact date this school was constructed is unknown. Local newspapers, however, reported school events in 1909.
Attending a one-room school was quite a different experience than today's school because all eight grades were taught at once by the same teacher. The teachers were predominately female and had to skillfully divide their time between each age group of students. Typically the teacher was paid about $50 a month including janitorial duties.
Teachers had to keep up on all of the subjects and be versed in arithmetic, reading, spelling, history, civics, agriculture, phonics and penmanship. Motivating the students to work independently and to help the younger students was also part of the juggling act.
School started at 9 a.m. with a noon lunch-time recess until 1 p.m., and school was dismissed at 4 p.m. Students were called upon to stay late for minor chores such as cleaning the erasers and blackboards.
The Aroya School was the last one-room school in Cheyenne County.
Kenneth Jessen has been a Loveland resident since 1965. He is an author of 18 books and more than 1,300 articles. He was an engineer for Hewlett-Packard for 33 years and now works as a full-time author, lecturer and guide.