Education was a priority for pioneers in this area even before South Dakota became a state. In 1899, settlers erected Union No. 31 Country School six miles south and one mile east of Mt. Vernon to replace the small one-room school they had built in 1884 a half mile west of there. Increased numbers of children in the area prompted construction of a larger schoolhouse on this site in 1923. The schoolhouse provided education for grades one through eight until 1969, when it was consolidated with the Mt. Vernon School District. From 1923 to 1969, twenty-three teachers taught at Union No. 31. Over the years, the schoolhouse also served as a facility for social gatherings, township meetings, and a voting precinct. Although Union No. 31 Country School no longer exists on this site, the lessons taught there, including patriotism, sportsmanship, respect for fellow man, and a strong work ethic, lived on through the individuals and their posterity who attended the school.