Tennant

Tennant is located in Shelby County and is one of the most beautiful and bountiful communities in Western Iowa and is surrounded by prosperous farming and livestock raising. The town was platted with the coming of the Chicago-Great Western Railroad in 1902. Trains began running in 1903, and continued until the abandonment of the railway in 1971.

In 1913 the consolidated independent School District of Tennant was formed by joining four one room school districts -- Districts No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 from Shelby Township and District No. 9 from Lincoln Township. It has been written that it was one of the very first such schools in Iowa to be formed by such a consolidation. The pupils were hauled to school in horse-drawn school busses. They called them hacks at that time. In the winter they used bobsleds. The last class to graduate from Tennant was in 1959 when Tennant and Shelby schools consolidated. The smallest class to graduate was 3 students. The largest class to graduate was 13. A total of 344 pupils were graduated from Tennant High School. An Alumni banquet is held every other year. more ...