The school has been renovated by Whiteford Heritage Association of Members.
The following article in the Toledo Blade tells about its renovation (
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"ONE ROOM, HISTORICAL VIEW
By ANGIE SCHMITT
BLADE STAFF WRITER
OTTAWA LAKE - Eugene Appling, 76, attended second grade in the one-room schoolhouse off Whiteford Center Road in 1940, when it had a coal-burning stove and a slate chalkboard.
Today, he says, the Whiteford Schoolhouse is much the same, thanks to the efforts of the Whiteford Heritage Association of Members, or WHAM.
For 13 years the group has been restoring - inside and out - the 1888 brick building, which originally was called Whiteford Township #1. The chimney has been replaced, the bell tower painted, desks sanded and re-stained.
Now, their effort is nearly finished and the group is ready to open the building to classrooms of children seeking a lesson in history.
"It's gorgeous," said Pat Mumford, a historic association member.
Inside, the brick schoolhouse has been equipped with period antiques, including a flag with 38 stars and a photo of Abraham Lincoln. Rows of antique school desks are in place, with the school's original bench in the front of the classroom.
Teachers at the school, which closed in the early 1960s, would call each grade up to the bench when it was time for their lesson, association members said. Like Mr. Appling, many WHAM members attended the school.
The schoolhouse was nearly converted into a firehouse, before Whiteford Township turned it over to the historical association in 1995, President Bernice Heidelberg said.
Historical association members estimate $35,000 has been spent to rebuild the roof, install new bathrooms, and make other repairs.
"We put in the old outhouses but we have flush toilets," Mrs. Mumford said. "The health department saw to that."
The association drew much of its funding from its annual fund-raiser, Old Fashioned Days, scheduled for Saturday. The event will be held at the schoolhouse and include a car show, musical entertainment, and craft show. It will be staffed by association members in period dress.
With the additional revenue, the group hopes to install a wooden shed on the property for storage and to help with the annual event.
Although the building is ready to accept students, the Whiteford Schoolhouse has yet to receive any field trip reservations, association members say. The group hopes schools will begin submitting requests once word of the project's completion spreads. "It would give them the experience of a one-room school," Mrs. Heidelberg said. "All the desks are there, all the old materials."
The historical association is willing to assist districts with transportation costs if funding is an obstacle. The schoolhouse will be open only during the fall and springtime because it lacks heating, she said.
A similar project has been well-received in the neighboring Bedford Public School District. At the intersection of Stearns and Crabb roads, the Bedford Historical Society has restored a one-room schoolhouse known as the Banner Oak School.
Last year, about 500 students spent part of their school day in the building, built in 1871, society president Yvonne Schlagheck said.
"They come in and they pack their lunch, like they would in 1900. They usually dress up like they would have in 1900. They play games according to the era," she said. "It's totally authentic and all antique."