The earliest type of school in the districts were on the subscription
type. Each family was required to pay down so much for each child. This
of course was used to pay the school master. Mr W. F. Reed has a
receipt for payment issued by the teacher from one of these schools in
1901.
After statehood the community was divided into three districts, under
the direction of L. L. Wade of Ryan, then County Superintendent.
These three districts were named after three citizens, one from each
district. Wray's Chapel named after Sam Wray, who gave the land on
which the building was erected: Goodwin after Uncle Bill goodwin, by
whose house the building was placed, and Spears Chapel, named after
David Spear, who gave the two acres on which to erect the building.
The Goodwin building was a two story affair and it was here that Odd
Fellows Lodge was organized, later to be consolidated with Ryan.
These three districts proved very satisfactory and Wray's Chapel
several years before consolidated offered high school work. In order to
support a longer school and to have a more efficient high school these
districts were united into one consolidated district, called Union
Valley in 1929 (closed in 1956)
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