One-Room School House - Chatfield Township - Crawford County

Earlier this summer while headed up north to a festival I spotted a lone brick building sitting off in a bean field by itself.  Although it was a good ways off the three large windows on the side were the recognizable feature that gave away this building's original purpose.  I made a quick mental note of the location and the RoadQueen and I planned a motorcycle ride recently to return to the area and get a closer look at the latest schoolhouse find.

As with many old schoolhouses built in the late 19th century an agreement was struck between the local government and the landholder to allow a small plot to be set aside for the construction of the school.  Once the school systems were consolidated the original smaller schoolhouses reverted back to the original property owner to do with what he wished.

As we walked around and surveyed the state of the building we noted a nearby farm just to the south.  Barns and the farmhouse are just visible in the background of the picture above.

Eventually we may have drawn the attention of the farmer because soon we noticed a pickup truck cruising up the lane to where we had left our motorbikes.  When he turned onto the road and started coming our way we walked out to meet the driver.  We introduced ourselves and expressed our interest in the old schoolhouse.  This was the fourth generation landowner of the nearby farm and by default the schoolhouse.  

He seemed pleased to find that we cared enough to stop and look so he shared a cool story with us.  His Grandfather actually went to school in the building when he was a boy! Needless to say the RoadQueen and I were impressed.  The farmer also said that next spring they planned to move the dirt pile out of the way of the front entrance and do some basic cleaning up and maintenance to the structure.  He invited us back when they have it open for look inside.  We told him we would definitely take up his offer. 

Here's a good shot of the original soffit. All solid wood; there was no such thing as exterior grade plywood in those days.

The schoolhouse is in pretty good shape thanks to the sturdy standing seam metal roof.  The only trouble spots I could find was above the front door where the span proved too great allowing the unsupported masonry to sag and the mortar to develop cracks.

On our way up to the site we took the State highway but planned to circle around using back roads on our way back.  I've found that in less populated rural areas where there's one schoolhouse chances are another one might be nearby.

Sure enough four miles to the south we spotted another schoolhouse on a corner of two country roads.  Right away I saw a stone lintel above the upper window.  Even from a distance I could see the stone was carved.  Great! I thought it's always nice to find an intact date plaque for these old buildings.

The offset door is something I often see on these old schoolhouses. Originally the front entrance was only a man door.  Later someone enlarged the opening by knocking out bricks on only one side and leaving the left side of the jamb intact.

Looks like an old rain gutter bracket. On the other side of this wall would have been the chalkboard.

Walking around the site was easy thanks to the well kept lawn surrounding the building.  We also noticed the owners had recently patched up some problem areas in the masonry.

It was nice to add a couple new schoolhouses to my little collection and especially heartening to see conservation work being done to preserve these unique pieces of American history.

Check out other 19th century Ohio schoolhouses by clicking the label below.

One-Room School House -- Cranberry Twp.

Today was my son's first day back to school after the summer vacation.  He's in the eighth grade this year and had he been born 120 years ago he might have gone to a school that looks like this.  Fortunately his school building is a bit bigger than this one.

I discovered this wood sided schoolhouse in the northern corner of Crawford County earlier this year on a recumbent ride.  The well cared for structure sits close by the road and is near a farm.

One-Room Schoolhouse -- Greenfield Township, Huron County

This restored one-room schoolhouse is the second one I've found in Greenfield Township located in Huron County, Ohio.  Just like the school in Sandusky Township this one resides under the care of the township and sits next to the maintenance garage.  It is probably used as a polling place at election time and a public gathering place for other occasions and events.

A sound roof and modern replacement windows keep with the traditional look and ensure this building will be around for many years to come.

My son and I discovered this school during a road trip returning from Lake Erie a few weeks ago.  Shortly before we passed through the area a car crash occurred along the State Route on which we were traveling.  A detour was set up by the authorities to route traffic around the crash that led us through the small village of Stueben and right to the schoolhouse.  I didn't have my camera but managed to get a few good shots to share with my cellphone. 

    

One-Room School House -- Cardington Township

Earlier in the summer I was out on the Triumph Scrambler on a ride to photograph a Mail Pouch Tobacco Barn.  As I usually like to do for the return trip I took a roundabout excursion into the countryside and stumbled upon another old school house for my collection.

This wood sided school house located in Cardington Township, Morrow County sits along a quiet country lane in slow decay.

Originally the structure may have been constructed with a slate roof but later a standing seam metal roof  was added.  While durable and long lasting standing seam won't last forever and it looks like high winds at some point tore off some of the material.  An obvious lack of paint on the outside also means this old schoolhouse's days are numbered.
  

I've mentioned before I'm saddened to see these examples of a simpler time withering away but the serendipity of coming across another one before it's too late always brings a smile.

See more early Ohio school houses by clicking the label below.

   

One-Room School House -- Whetstone Township

Last month I was sad to see an old schoolhouse I've ridden by many times over the years finally give up the ghost.  I took some pictures of the rubble and posted them here.  Shortly after and not far from that location I discovered another schoolhouse I had no idea existed while out on a bike ride.
 

WHETSTONE TP.
SUB. DIST. NO. 7
A.D. 1882

Although this one has seen better days it does have a good roof and the brick work looks sound so I think it will be around awhile yet.  The building sits just 20 feet off the road and is the corner of someones front yard.  As with other schoolhouses the front was opened up at some point and this building was probably used for storage for many years.

I still find it amazing how bright it is inside the building with nothing but the eight tall windows to let in the light.

Schoolhouse #7 is along my new Parcher Road Loop which has turned into one of my favorite local rides so I'll be able to enjoy this cheerful little bit of Ohio history regularly.

Schoolhouse Demolition

A couple weeks ago I took The Roadqueen for a bicycle ride to visit a nearby one-room schoolhouse.  This schoolhouse has appeared in a few of my blog posts because it is along a route I regularly ride.  I've noticed and documented the damage caused by neglect and severe weather to the 100 year old structure and I knew its inevitable demise was drawing near but I was still saddened to see demolition underway when we arrived at the small plot of land surrounded by tall corn. 

The courses of brick were laid down three bricks wide on a foundation of sturdy sandstone blocks.  

In this shot slots are visible that received the floor joists and a crawlspace ventilation grill below.

Here are a couple older photographs. The first was taken on a bike ride after I weathered a strong summer storm under its roof.  About that time I decided to start seeking out these old schools and assembling them together into a theme on the blog.  There was already a huge chunk of the west wall missing for who knows how long that eventually allowed in enough wind pressure during another storm to blow out the east wall. (bottom photo)

The school stood in this shape through the winter and I don't think it was just my imagination that I noticed more and more droop in the roof as I passed by on bike rides earlier this year.

Click the schoolhouse label below to visit other old schoolhouses.

One-Room Schoolhouse -- Worthington TWP No. 5

Here's a great wood sided original one-room school house I found in Worthington Township in south-eastern Richland County, Ohio.  This schoolhouse is located on a rural road just off State Route 97 east of Butler, Ohio and I have passed it many times on my way to Mohican State Park.

  

I love walking around these old sites quietly contemplating the goings on that happened long ago. I imagine busy activity and the sound of children's laughter. Rivalries and fights; childhood romance and of course budding dreams and discoveries as the kids learned of the wide world outside the sphere of life on the farm.

Remarkably most of the original slate roof is intact and the school number and date of construction is still visible after all these years.  

No 5  1897

The three windows on the north side look to be original even though a few panes are broken out.  The north side of the building is relatively protected from the harshest weather that blows out of the west-southwest.  The windows on the south side and two on each side of the front door have been boarded up.  The west wall has no windows as that was the "head of the class" where the full length chalkboard hung.

On the south side of the structure I noticed these vines clinging tenaciously even burrowing their way under the siding only to reappear further up the wall.  I'm sure this vegetation is probably some kind of flowering vine or poison ivy and grows leaves during the warm months.  A lack of fresh paint and moist conditions under the leafy cover of the vines further hastens the decay of the wood.

Township Hall

On a recumbent ride last spring I came across this well preserved and still used example of Ohio's early architecture.  The Tully Township Hall is located in the village of Martel just down the road from the schoolhouse I documented last year. While it was never intended for use as a schoolhouse it shares all the structural attributes so I reckoned that it deserved a spot in the series.

At some point an addition was added on to the rear of the 133 year old building and is visible in the opening picture.  I can't wait for the weather to break so I can continue my search for more of Ohio's first schools.  I know there has got to be many more around the region waiting to be discovered.

Click the "One-Room School Houses" tag below to group all my schoolhouse posts together and take a virtual tour.

Clear Fork Loop 4

This morning at breakfast I looked out the window and noticed the patio was dry so decided to go for a recumbent ride.  The sky was gray and a chilly wind was blowing from the north and the temperature registered about 47 degrees on my computer. That's ideal riding conditions really and as long as it's not raining being on the bike beats sitting on the couch any day.

I've had a busy week. I'm about three weeks into my winter workout regime.  The shock of hitting the weights has abated and I'm not feeling too sore from that.  Tuesday I worked chest and 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. Wednesday I took a down day and then was back at it Thursday with an arm workout and 30 minutes again on the elliptical.  Last night was shoulders followed up with another half hour on the cardio machine.  I've done a couple leg workouts but I don't worry too much about legs now that it's still warm enough to ride my bike.  In a few months when everything is frozen I'll add leg exercises to the resistance training and increase the duration on the elliptical.

Increasing my activity level has left me feeling great so I decided to ride the Clear Fork Loop for the extra workout the hills provide in the middle third of the route.  I didn't take a lot of pictures on this ride because of the overcast sky and the dreary look of the landscape. Besides I've already documented this route several times here and most recently here.

The majority of this loop is the east-west directions which minimizes the the strong north breeze to a manageable crosswind.  To mix things up I decided to run the loop counter-clockwise opposite of the last time I rode and I was surprised to notice this old brick schoolhouse.  It's funny I've been riding this road for 15 years and I never noticed the school house. Granted I've not been actively seeking them out until recently.
    

As with many of the old school buildings I found this one is in a similar sad state of disrepair.  I don't know what happened to the back corner but the bricks are completely gone.



The school house lies in North Bloomfield Township in the north-east corner of Morrow County.  The architecture is more spartan than most of the buildings I've documented.  Notice there is no round window above the door or decorative plaque with the district number and date of establishment.  It could be that this school is older than the others in the area built before the engraved date plaques became a standard feature.  Hard to tell and I'm just speculating.  In any case I would feel confident dating the structure to the late 1800's.



Another notable feature of this one is the original doorway.  Many schoolhouses were turned into storage buildings once retired and the subsequent owners knocked out a bigger hole and installed sliding shed doors.



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Readers have commented how picturesque and peaceful the places I ride look and for the most part they are.  Even so from time to time I have to deal with that scourge of the road going cyclist: Asshole drivers. They're everywhere and if you spend enough time on two wheels eventually you will run into them. 

The eastern leg of the loop descends into the Clear Fork Valley then climbs up the other side. This climb nearly two miles long is unfortunately part a well used route between two cities.  The route is a simple county road with one lane for each direction. There is no shoulder and not enough room for a car and bike to occupy the same lane.  For me on the bike it's the most stressful part of an otherwise great ride. 

Today I was irritated twice in less than half a mile.  I had begun the climb and was only 500 feet or so up the road already dropped to the granny gears and was chugging up the hill at around 6 or 7 mph.  the road twists and turns so I keep a constant watch behind me in the helmet mirror.  Soon filling up my mirror is the grill of an older red full size Chevy truck.  Oncoming traffic held him back for a few seconds until it was clear to pass then the asshat floored the accelerator; half burnt hydrocarbons and oily blue smoke spewing out and hanging heavy in the air for my enjoyment.  What an idiot! Gasoline nearly four dollars a gallon this yahoo guns his V8 up the road probably burning a quart in the process. I'm sure the guy would argue that the acceleration was warranted to get safely around me and back over into the lane as quickly as possible but I say bollocks! A full on 300 horsepower hole shot is not required to overtake a bicycle traveling at a blistering 5 mph.

Sixty seconds later still cranking up the hill I'm watching a sedan's steady approach from the rear in my mirror.  Up ahead is a small SUV closing and I can tell we are all going to intersect at about the same time.  Sure enough the sedan barely slows and edges out about a foot over the center line.  This action in turn forces the SUV driver to edge his vehicle as far to the right of his lane as possible.  In the distance behind me I hear the long blast of the SUV's horn conveying the driver's irritation over the situation.  This is one of my biggest pet peeves. 

It took me two minutes to look up the violation in the Ohio Revised Code:

4511.29 Driving to left of center of roadway in overtaking and passing traffic proceeding in same direction.

(A) No vehicle or trackless trolley shall be driven to the left of the center of the roadway in overtaking and passing traffic proceeding in the same direction, unless such left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit such overtaking and passing to be completely made, without interfering with the safe operation of any traffic approaching from the opposite direction or any traffic overtaken. In every event the overtaking vehicle or trackless trolley must return to an authorized lane of travel as soon as practicable and in the event the passing movement involves the use of a lane authorized for traffic approaching from the opposite direction, before coming within two hundred feet of any approaching vehicle.

Of course if your a cyclist all of this is old hat but if you're a car driver exclusively and for some strange reason you're reading this blog go up and read the excerpt from the law book again and remember to slow down for us bike riders.

Later in the ride I have to make a short jog of about an eighth mile on a busy state route to connect back up with rural county road.  This stretch of highway doesn't twist and turn but it is very hilly.  As usual I'm grinding uphill in my lower gears and watching behind in the mirror.  At least the state route has a shoulder a couple feet wide and a white stripe but I always stay right around the stripe regardless of what is going on.  A small black SUV closes on me but slows down matching my speed. Traveling uphill as we were it was impossible to see oncoming traffic ahead.  In just a few seconds we crested the rise and like clockwork there was a car coming at us in the opposite lane.  After the other car passed the SUV pulled out and began his pass.  As the driver came around I gave him a wave with my left hand as a sign of thanks for holding on a second. Once safely back in the lane I heard a quick and happy toot-toot of the SUV's horn.  This little episode made me feel better and proves that cars and bikes can get along.

In any event I made it home safe with another great ride in the log book and I even dropped 6 minutes off the loop time from earlier in the year.

Clear Fork Loop

Bike: HP Velotechnik Street Machine

Ride Time:  2:14:07

Distance:  28.84 miles

Average Speed:  12.8 mph

Max Speed:  44 mph