Peter’s School, Winesburg Heritage Park, Winesburg, OH

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Peter’s School

Winesburg Heritage Park

U.S. Route 62

Winesburg, Ohio

Heritage Park is located across from the local fire station in Winesburg, Ohio, where a white-washed one room school house and a quaint old brown log cabin have been restored by the Winesburg Historical Society.  This small park was donated to the Winesburg Historical Society in 1990 by the family of Cliff Amos, in his honor. There are several restored historical buildings that have been placed here, including an 1837 log house donated by the Mathias family and Peter’s School.

     Even though there is an active local historical society in Winesburg, there seems to be no information about this school. There is an interesting article that mentions Peter’s School and its relocation through the efforts of Glenn Wengerd. The log cabin was moved here in 1990 when this corner was developed as Heritage Park, so probably this school was also moved here then. The school appears to be just one room of a plain white frame constructions with a bell mounted in a small pointed belfry on top.

     Winesburg is located in Holmes County, the heart of Ohio’s Amish country near Millersburg, the county seat. It is probably best known, however, as the title town of the collection of short stories by Sherwood Anderson in 1919, entitled Winesburg, Ohio, although he never lived here. He did live in the small town of Clyde, Ohio, at one time, however.  Also in the park are the cornerstone from the Mail Pouch Barn, dated 1891, that was built by Godfrey Kochenderfer, and a red-topped gazebo.

Canyon Creek Schoolhouse/Little Red Schoolhouse, Glenwood Springs, CO

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Canyon Creek Schoolhouse / Little Red Schoolhouse

Rd. 137

Glenwood Springs CO

Constructed in 1907, the one-room Canyon Creek Schoolhouse just west of Glenwood Springs in Garfield County, CO, is typical of rural educational facilities with its red walls, white pitched gabled roof, school bell tower over the center near the entrance on the right, narrow windows, and cloakroom.  The Schoolhouse offered the local ranching community a cultural and academic center essential to the growth of the rural region. After 1959, no classes were held at the Canyon Creek Schoolhouse, but the historic building continues to serve Glenwood Springs as a center for public activity.  The property also retains the boys’ and girls’ privies and original playground equipment. 

     Located in its original creek-side setting, the school conveys its rural roots as a schoolhouse while now serving as the center of community life.  Today the building is a venue for weddings, dances, meetings, and other community events, and it illustrates frontier education to visiting school children each year. In order to ensure that this building remains intact for years to come, SHF funding will restore the original stone foundation—the first project of a multi-phased rehabilitation venture.  The Canyon Creek Schoolhouse is listed under the Rural School Buildings in Colorado Multiple Property Submission.

Portola Valley School, Portola Valley, CA

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Portola Valley School

775 Portola Road

Portola Valley, California

The Portola Valley School is a one-room schoolhouse that sits at 775 Portola Road in Portola Valley, San Mateo County, California. It was designed in 1909 by Palo Alto architect LeBaron R. Olive and is a rare, surviving example of remaining early 20th century school buildings in Mission Revival style. This building was built with wood construction and use of shingles. Olive’s design was a conspicuous effort to execute the style on a small scale in wood.  Architectural historians consider that the Mission Revival style was developed in part from the shingle tradition. Therefore, the extensive usage of wooden shingles in this interpretation is significant and especially appropriate here in virgin redwood country.

     After a half century’s existence, the Searsville School District’s attendance reached a peak in 1909. The census listed 76 children eligible to attend, even though only 53 enrolled. The same year the name was changed to the Portola School District. On June 14, 1909, a bond election was passed to provide a second school building.  Portola taxpayers were affluent San Franciscans, who owned the large estates in the valley. They may have encouraged use of Mission Revival to complement their summer showplace homes designed by the style’s protagonists: A. Page Brown, Willis Polk, and Julia Morgan.

     Mission Revival was most popular on the San Francisco Peninsula. The Stanford University Romanesque buildings had been a forerunner of the style. The Burlingame railroad depot is a fully realized example of the Mission Revival style in San Mateo County. The Portola Valley School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  It is currently used for Portola Valley town-hall meetings.

Cedar Grove School No. 81, Brockett, AR

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Cedar Grove School No. 81

Highway 115

Brockett, AR

The Cedar Grove School #81 is a historic school building on the west side of Arkansas Highway 115 in the small Randolph County community of Brockett, Arkansas, approximately 5 miles north of Pocahontas. It is a wood frame one-room schoolhouse, 23 by 41 feet in size, with a gable roof and a concrete foundation. It was built in 1938, replacing another building destroyed by a tornado, and served as a district school until 1948, when the district was consolidated into the Pocahontas schools. The building has been used since then by the Brockett Home Extension Club as a community center. The Cedar Grove School #81 was listed with the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 2004.

Apache Elementary School, Portal, AZ

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Apache Elementary School

10488 East Skeleton Canyon Road

Portal, Arizona, 85632

Located in the high desert of Southeast Arizona, between the Peloncillo and Chiricahua Mountains, lies Apache Elementary School.  The Apache Elementary School District is a school district with a single one-room school, Apache Elementary School (AES), in rural Cochise County, Arizona.  One of four remaining one-room schools in the state, Apache Elementary provides K-8 education to the children of ranchers, farmers, and others in this sparsely populated area of Arizona.

     In 1910 the school was established. The current building opened circa 1969. Sometime prior to 2019 the Cochise County School Superintendent considered having the school district closed, but changed her mind upon seeing the operation of the school. In 2019 the number of students was 10, and there was an employee who served as principal, superintendent, and teacher.  Apache Elementary School exists to provide quality educational experiences for the community’s children.

     The school staff and the Board of Education work together to define and implement quality educational practices. They are ever mindful that this school exists for children. Its purpose is to provide opportunity for children to develop skills necessary for productive lives. It is their mission to so arrange the school organization, its structures, rules, procedures, policies, and course of studies so that each child can learn at his or her maximum rate.

Wilson Schoolhouse Inn, LaCrosse, WI

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The Wilson Schoolhouse Inn

5720 U.S. 14/61

 La Crosse, WI 54601.

There are some truly awesome and unique places you can spend the in Wisconsin, but few people know that they can spend the night in a one-room schoolhouse in Wisconsin.  Just south of La Crosse there’s a century-old one-room schoolhouse that is available for rent.  The Wilson Schoolhouse Inn was used as a one-room schoolhouse from 1917 to 1965. The building is on the National Register of Historic Buildings.  This cozy and unique spot sits on 12 acres of woods, fields, and gardens. It feels far more rural and remote than it is, as it’s just 10 minutes from downtown La Crosse.

     This beautiful building sat empty for many years before the current owners bought it just to ensure its protection. They lived nearby and didn’t want to see it demolished. The schoolhouse received its historic designation, but it took the owners a decade before they even hooked up electricity and water.  Now the place is all fixed up. The floor-to-ceiling windows are original to the building, and folks who stay here will find all kinds of amazing original details. Those big windows meant that the students actually watched films under the stairs – the only dark spot in the whole building!

     There are numbered coat hooks, a blackboard and school desks in part of the wide open room to remind one of the building’s roots.This wonderful space is perfect for groups up to eight adults. Sure, folks might find it a perfect spot for a secluded escape by themselves.  But this brilliant spot is used to the chatter of many voices and it’s a great place to bring family or friends for a weekend getaway to the western part of the state. It’s just as gorgeous and welcoming in Winter as it is in the warmer months and there’s still plenty to see and do.

     The big wide open space and many beds make this a perfect spot for a knitting, sewing, or crafting getaway, or exploring the Great River Road.  The schoolhouse was lovingly and painstakingly restored and the owners have done a ton of work in finding mementos of the building’s former life. There’s a scrapbook of the renovations as well as things like old class rosters and worksheets.   It’s never easy to find a spot to take a whole group, which is part of what makes a stay here so appealing. But that it can be done in such a beautiful, charming and interesting spot is really just the cherry on the sundae.

Bronell/Jewett (Allegan #5) School, Allegan County Fairgrounds John Pahl Historical Village, Allegan, MI

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Bronell/Jewett (Allegan #5) School

Allegan County Fairgrounds John Pahl Historical Village

150-200 Douglas St.

Allegan, MI 49010

The Jewett a.k.a. Brownell School (1888 – 1964) in Allegan County, MI, was moved in 1971 from its original location at Dumont Rd. and 122nd Street to the  John Pahl Historic Village at the Allegan County Fairgrounds in Allegan, Michigan, where it serves as a museum and as an exhibit buillding open at fair time in September.

Greenbush School Historical Society Museum, Greenbush, MI

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Greenbush School Historical Society Museum

5029 Campbell at State Road

Greenbush, MI

A historical marker in Greenbush, MI, directs travelers on US-23 onto Campbell Road. Most people think it is to view Greenbush Township Hall, which was erected in 1868; however, the marker is to the location of Greenbush School, a one-room schoolhouse built in 1870, which closed in 1947.  It is preserved as a museum and a Michigan State Registered Historic Site by the Greenbush Historical Society. It opened in 1870 and closed in 1947.  The school is situated on a lot west of the township hall, having been moved from its original location across from the township hall in 1979. It was moved so the township’s fire hall could be built on the former schoolhouse site.  The schoolhouse is owned by the Greenbush Historical Society, which opens the building to the public a few times per year.

Leiphart School, Midland County Fairgrounds, Midland, MI

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Leiphart School

Midland County Fairgrounds

6905 Eastman Ave.

Midland, MI 48642

The Leiphart School in Midland, Michigan, is at least 133 years old and was once located on Jefferson Avenue, then known as Old State Road.  Looking around inside the one-room schoolhouse now at the Midland County Fairgrounds, the one word that comes to mind is simplicity. Mint green paint covers the walls and an original, gray colored desk sits in the corner. This desk rests on top of well-worn wood floors. There is one spot on the floor that outlines a nearly full circle where a potbellied stove used to sit.  The room itself may seem rather ordinary, but the history that took place there — that is remarkable.

     From about 1881 until 1950, children from kindergarten through eighth grade, many of whom were siblings, sat at their desks and learned their subjects all in one room, and mostly from one teacher. The concept today, with more populated towns and larger schools, seems harder to imagine, but for the students of Leiphart School it was a reality.  In one section of the room are off-white shelves that contain framed copies of photos. One photo from 1910 shows 26 children standing next to their teacher, Grace Sugnet.

     Driving north on Jefferson today, it is easy to miss the grassy field set apart by a few short, wood pillars and some cable rope, where Leiphart, and eventually the two-room schoolhouse that replaced it, once stood.  After the two-room school was built, around 1950, Leiphart was kept intact but moved to the fairgrounds.  Those who visit during the Midland County Fair find that the school is used to showcase “Arts & Crafts by Senior Citizens,” as the sign outside the building reads.  In, 2015, 13 people, some who went to Leiphart and some whose relatives went, formed a committee to raise the funds needed to renovate the school. The group wanted to maintain the originality of the school and its design, while providing updates and some needed repairs.

     Renovations included updating the building’s electrical system and installing new windows that look like the originals.  The bell tower remains, and the bell was refurbished as a key part of the school’s originality.  Also, the floor plan wasn’t changed inside so that the concept of the one-room schoolhouse, which is becoming increasingly rare, would remain intact.  The surrounding landscape was enhanced to improve aesthetics, functionality and access. The cost to renovate the one-room schoolhouse was around $15,000. The renovation allows a broad base of uses — from senior crafting to reunions; weddings, and showers.  The community is able to rent the school for events, just as other buildings at the fairgrounds are available to rent.

Carbon Hill School Museum, Carbon Hill, IL

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Carbon Hill School Museum

875 North Second Street

Carbon Hill, IL 60416

The original 1893 Carbon HIll schoolhouse displays hundreds of original artifacts depicting immigrant turn-of-the-century life of families, businesses, and coal mines. Original items include the jailhouse iron doors, soccer trophies and bocce balls, coal mining tools, furniture and household items, old store supplies, Illinois coal reports, maps and plats, and plenty of family memories; there is something to interest everyone.

     A significant portion of the north room represents all the coal fields of Grundy and Will Counties, Illinois. In the south classroom visitors can sit at the desks, read through the old books, see photos depicting the classes and school history, 1893-1955. Three rooms are filled with photographs, artifacts, local memorabilia, kitchen, bedroom and store displays from “the old days,” plus a diorama of Carbon Hill, in its mining heyday, circa 1900.

     The Carbon Hill School Museum is the home of the Carbon Hill Historical Society, a chartered and registered not-for-profit organization, which invites anyone interested in its museum and local history to visit and also to join the society, which owns the school and sponsors all of its programs. The museum is open on Mondays from noon to 4 P.M. and also opens by appointment for interested individuals, families, or groups.