Little Red Schoolhouse - Willow Springs, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 42.526 W 087° 52.613
16T E 427048 N 4617813
Originally, a real one-room schoolhouse constructed in 1886, located within a few miles of its current site. Moved to this location in the 1950s and opened as a Nature Center on May 15, 1955.
Waymark Code: WM417Y
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/22/2008
Views: 40
(See waymark WM416K for current function as a Nature Center.)
from (
visit link)
A History of the Little Red Schoolhouse - excerpts follow
In 1886, a new school was built in Palos. Over the years it was variously called District 116, Molony or Maple Hill School but most locals just knew it as the schoolhouse. Today that building is called by yet another name, the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, and this is the Story of the School House.
Looking at that new school as it stood in 1886, you would find it set in a grove of large oak trees in front of a ravine. There was a shed in front to store coal and wood with an overhang that occasionally sheltered students’ horses. A pump stood next to the shed and a dirt path led to the wooden stairs of the schoolhouse. It was painted white with green trim and had long windows on two sides of the buildings. There were two outhouses in back of the school. Stepping inside, one passed through a closet into the classroom. The room was 34' x 22' with a stove in the back and the teacher’s desk in front. Double desks were arranged in rows according to grade. The white walls were bare except for a chalkboard.
In the summer of 1938, the school was moved about 2/3rds of a mile down 99th St. to a new site on 104th Ave. Lee Taylor, a local resident, was hired to move the building for $75. Alumnus Elmer Hass and his father were hired to prepare the new site and recalled watching the move. “First,” he said, “the building was jacked up and large timbers were attached to the bottom of the building. Then iron wheels were attached to the timbers, and a cable was extended down the road. This cable was connected to a winch assembly that was staked to the ground. A horse walked in a circle, winding the cable and pulling the building along. Once the cable was wound, the winch was moved down the trail and the procedure repeated.”
Unlike the many one room schoolhouses that have vanished from this area, our schoolhouse would become a nature center. In 1952, the Forest Preserve District bought the building as well as its original site (1.6 acres) for $600. It was moved across 104th Ave., and this time the contractor used a truck instead of horses!
To give it more of the appearance of a “real” schoolhouse, some changes were made. Repairs were made and windows were added to the front and back. For the first time it was painted red with white trim and a belfry and bell were added. On the inside, the closet was converted into a new entryway, kitchen and office. Desks were replaced by fish tanks and nature displays. On May 15, 1955 the Little-Red Schoolhouse Nature Center was opened to the public. Ever since then its popularity has grown, and now over 450,000 people come each year to learn more about nature.