At the turn of the century, over 200,000 one-room schools existed in the United States. These simple, vernacular buildings represented the nation's commitment to education and were also the center of community life. The country school continues to be a powerful cultural symbol. This book consists of three parts. The first section describes country schools' educational and cultural legacy. Chapter 1 gives an overview placing country schools in the larger social and historical framework of American education. Chapter 2 describes the country school curriculum, discipline, and teaching methods. Chapter 3 presents anecdotes and memoirs describing teacher education, teaching conditions, and teachers' lives on the Western frontier in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chapter 4 features oral history material on the role country schools played as rural community centers. Chapter 5 discusses the assimilation of immigrants and minorities through rural schools. Chapter 6 looks at public, private, and parochial country schools in operation today. The second section examines the great variety of design in country school architecture. The third section discusses the preservation and restoration of country schools; describes new uses as museums, centers for living history programs, and community centers; presents preservation case studies; and lists one-room schools, state by state, that remain in public ownership. This book contains approximately 275 references, 400 photographs, numerous illustrations and line drawings, a list of 21 organizational sources of information, and an index of schools. (SV)