The first Emmons School was made of lathe and plaster and the oak lumber donated by each family. It measured 16 x 24 feet and was heated by a box stove, which could accommodate logs three feet in length. The desks were boards on the side walls and one end wall of the room and the seats were planks with legs.

There was no school tax at the time so each family gave money according to the number of their children that were pupils. The first teacher Mr. Miller, the second, Mr. White and others that followed boarded with the half dozen or so families in the district. The length of the teacher's stay with a family was determined by the number of children that family had enrolled in the school. The teachers were paid twelve dollars a month.

It was determined that the Emmons land was too low, so in 1870 land for a new site was purchased from John and Josephine Grimm for twenty dollars. The schoolhouse was moved to the new site directly across the road from where it had been originally built. The schoolhouse door faced west with several windows on the south wall. The Emmons land was returned to the Emmons family.

Prior to the turn of the century Emmons was District 7 of the 11 school districts in the Antioch area. Each school had three directors that managed school business. By 1905 the schools in the county were reorganized and Emmons was given the district number 33. In the early 1900's enrollment varied from 20 to as many as 37 students.

The building was remodeled in 1916 at a cost of $900, yet was not considered a standard school. The heating and drinking water system were far below the necessary requirements . Since there was no well on the grounds during the 1920's, the teacher, Ida (Runyard) Kufalk, carried water from her parents' farm across the road (northwest corner of Beach Grove and Route 59). The teacher was also responsible for starting the fire in the morning. Ida's student, Ardis (Toft) Pedersen remembers the odor of the chemical toilets in restrooms on the east end of the building.