History
Mary S. Boyd Elementary School is named for one of Springfield's first school teachers, Mary Sophia Boyd.
She was born in Tennessee in February 19, 1835. When she was a young girl her family moved to Springfield, Missouri. She married Erastus Halloday Boyd on August 16, 1853. Her husband was a Civil War soldier who was killed in the war. Her own three children died young of childhood diseases. She became a school teacher in the 1860's known to the students as Miss Sophia and continued to teach until shortly before her death on May 19, 1919 at the age of 84.
Miss Sophia started teaching students in her father's law office. She joined the Springfield Central School in 1867 and taught in Room One for more than forty years. When a new school was named in her honor in 1908, the 73 year old teacher came over to serve as the librarian and assistant principal. The original Mary S. Boyd structure was a renovated home on the corner of Central St. and Benton Ave. When the school had a fire in 1911 the current building was constructed as a replacement.
The 1900 Springfield, Missouri Census shows the 65 year old Mary Boyd still living with her mother on Robberson Ave.
Principals of Boyd Elementary
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Julia V. Fowler 1908-1914 |
Josephine O. Young 1914-1948 |
Cassie Moorman 1948-1950 |
Jane Erb 1950-1953 |
Virginia Renshaw 1953-1963 |
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Robert Ferguson 1963-1965 |
Dillon Morrison 1965-1970 |
Granville Henderson 1970-1981 |
Tom Snodgrass 1981-1988 |
John Utne 1988-1991 |
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Alana Lyles 1991-2002 |
James Grandon 2002-present |