 The district’s roots go back to the 1850’s and to three small schools that educated the farm and village youths of the town of Gilbert (now known as Bettendorf). The Gilbert School was constructed sometime during the 1870’s.
Country kids went to school at the one-room Wachter School on Middle Road. Children living on the other side of town attended the small Strokes school somewhere between 25-27th streets on the hill.
In the beginning . . .
At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Bettendorf was a farming community with a small downtown area. Leaders dreamed of bringing new development to the area and arranged for the sale of the former Elias Gilbert farm (where the Isle of Capri now exists on Bettendorf’s riverfront) to brothers William and Joseph Bettendorf. The brothers constructed the Bettendorf Axle Company factory on that site and produced cast-steel Bettendorf truck frames for the railroad industry.
In 1903, the town was renamed in honor of William and Joseph Bettendorf. Civic leaders pondered the idea of establishing their own school system. At that time, school children attended the two-room Bettendorf School located to the west of the Alter Company building on State Street.
Bettendorf Independent School
The Bettendorf Community School District was officially founded in 1907 when parents and civic leaders parted ways with the Davenport Township School Board. The result was the Bettendorf Independent School District and the district’s school board held their first meeting in May 1907.
The changes meant closing the one-room Strokes School in March 1907. The two room Bettendorf School house was located in the 2100 block of State Street.
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District History
First 100 Years
