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Iola Explorations
Learn more about Iola by following the links below:
Stoney Lonesome SchoolAddress:
South on old U.S. 169 (State Street)
Email Address: achm@aceks About this Exploration:  This is a little known spot that has some great history! It is a drive-by exploration but worth the time to view. Go south out of Iola on State Street, travel 2.7 miles from the south bridge across Elm Creek. Take the old highway towards Humboldt, and among the trees, you will find this little gem on the west side of the road.
After being turned down by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point when Funston flunked both the entrance exam and minimum height requirement (he was only 5' 4"), Funston taught school at this little rural schoolhouse called "Stoney Lonesome" south of Iola where, according to historian Thomas W. Crouch, he was forced to "trounce" the school bully, who was larger than Funston, after the student pulled a pistol on the "new little teacher." The bully was thoroughly "corrected," but when Funston turned around after the fight, he found that all the students had climbed out the windows in fear of being hurt in the ruckus! This is a must for explorers.
 You won't find the complete schoolhouse, but enough remnants remain from one corner that you can imagine what it must have looked like. It has a historic plaque on it to remind visitors of days gone by.
You can find out more about Stoney Lonesome School or Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston at the Allen County Historical Society in Iola. Inside the Allen County Historical Museum, there's a replica of the inside if the Stoney Lonesome one room school.
Incidentally, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker had every intention of naming Funston commander of U.S. forces in World War I, instead of Pershing, had Funston not died at such an early age. A less certain, but possible scenario is that he would have been pushed to be the 1920 Republican Presidential candidate. Instead, Leonard Wood ran for this position but lost to Senator Warren G. Harding.
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