Simmons was built in 1856 when Joel Simmons sold the district the site at the southeast corner of the N.W. ¼ of Section 8 for $20. It was replaced in 1878 and remodeled in 1926, when a basement was added. Often called Freeman School for Caleb Freeman, a land owner in the early days, yet continued to be known as Simmons School. Rodney R. Cool, a highly educated young engineer from New York, was the first teacher. It consolidated with Stanford in 1946. (Adapted from The Story of McLean County and Its Schools by William B. Brigham)