The Archives contains many items representing organizations, special events and regular campus life, some dating back from the days of the First District Normal School. Included are such things as a hat pin with the Normal School seal, class lapel  pins, a ball and helmet used by the 1901 football team, a replica of the Baldwin statue, a commemorative spoon, the head of the first bulldog mascot costume, coffee mugs, t-shirts, homecoming souvenirs and on, and on. Some of these things are on display in the Library's 3rd floor gallery; others are included from time to time in exhibits in the gallery on the first floor.

Both sides of a commemorative coin celebrating the Centennial of Northeast Missouri State Teacher's College are pictured here. On one side is a representation of the tower of Old Baldwin Hall, the first building on the present campus, which was destroyed in a fire in 1924, surrounded by the words, "Commemorating a Century of Teacher Education: Kirksville, Missouri."  On the other side of the coin is a burning lamp dated 1867-1967, encircled by "A Flame to the Second Century: State Teachers College."

This model of the Model Rural School is an exact replica of the Model Rural School and duplicates the school's structure and equipment, down to the miniature furnace and dynamo.

The Model Rural School

When John R. Kirk became president of the First District Normal School in 1899, there were many self-contained rural communities within a few miles of one another. The children in these communities were educated in one-room schools that had not kept pace with the urban educational systems. Many schools had dirt floors, unequipped laboratories and libraries, and poorly-paid teachers with less than 4-year degrees. It was the dream of President Kirk to provide rural children with the same educational advantages as urban students.

In 1907, he opened the doors of the Model Rural School on the campus to an initial enrollment of 28 students. Educators and journalists came from all over the nation to see the little school that included the comforts and conveniences of city schools. The Model Rural School was an important step in the total education of teachers planning to teach in rural schools.