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There is no other building in Mount Prospect with the significance of the 1896 Central School. This one room schoolhouse represents not just the history of Mount Prospect, but also the history of the Midwest, the frontier and America. At one time, there were hundreds of small one-room schools across America, but with shifting land use most of these buildings have been demolished. Once they were gone, communities have realized that they had lost an important link in the chain of the community history. These small schools were the tangible history of small town America, of the bustling intersections of the agrarian Midwest, and the diverse population that inhabited this country. Each frontier schoolhouse that has been demolished or allowed to collapse has made those that remain more valuable to the nation as a whole. Mount Prospect now holds the key to the memory of every small town in America.

The history of the Central School begins in the 1890s but is based in issues that are still current today. Cook County Commissioner William Busse was one of the most influential people in the development of Mount Prospect, and one of the first things that Commissioner Busse set out to do when he moved to Mount Prospect was to create a public school. Busse thought then, as people still believe today, that the community could not attract residents and development without a good school system. Mount Prospect, at that time, was divided into five different school districts in three different townships. William Busse negotiated with the other school districts and was able to carve out the first school district in Illinois to cross township lines, this is School District 57. Once the district had been created the location of the school had to be worked out. William Wille, a friend of Busse and a supporter of the new school district, donated a plot of land for the site. William Busse then bought a second plot and donated it. The voters in Mount Prospect were then presented with the two existing plots and asked to approve the purchase of two more adjacent lots to create a small campus for the students, and to approve the construction of the school. This vote was passed and William Wille, a local carpenter, was hired to build the school.

The elegantly simple design of the Central School conceals a rich history that some may overlook. The four exterior walls of the school are all built to be weight bearing and the roof rests directly on them. There are no supports within the building and the interior space was originally one open room. This building, with its delicately balanced weight, was built by hand before there was electricity in Mount Prospect, demonstrating the work of William Wille, a master craftsman.

In its original location, the building was designed with an awareness of the most current academic standards in the state. The building faced north and had twice as many windows on one side as it did on the other. This was not an accident. This was in keeping with beliefs that the amount and direction of light in a school would affect the learning of the students. If you read the 1908 publication by Francis G. Blair, Superintendent of Public Instruction, The One Room and Consolidated Country Schools of Illinois, you will see that the Central School was not an anomaly but was on the cutting edge of public education in it's time. The construction of the coatrooms and the positioning of the desks were all dictated by a discussion of the best design for the education of children.

As Mount Prospect developed from a farming community to a modern suburb this building has seen all the changes and has been a part of many of them. As soon as the school was built and the first students began attending the building had a larger presence in the community. Mount Prospect was not incorporated and did not have a village hall or a central meeting place when the Central School was built. The schoolhouse became this central spot. While the downtown was developing it became clear that the community needed a church closer to town and people got together to organize Saint Paul Lutheran. Before the Church was built, these members met in the Central School. Soon organizations such as the Mount Prospect Improvement Association were using the space for their meetings. This group worked to organize community improvement and acted as an unofficial government. One part of the civic improvements of this time was the formation of the first Mount Prospect Volunteer Fire Department, which in 1913 was organized in the Central Schoolhouse. The Improvement Association also began the process of incorporation. When they were able to muster the requirements to have the village incorporated, they met in the Central School and signed the documents, making the Central School the site of the incorporation of Mount Prospect. This building soon became the center of the civic life of the newly incorporated village.

As the population grew, it became clear that the community needed to build a larger school and in 1927 the Central Standard School was constructed. Although no longer the only public school in town, the original Central School remained important to the community. It began holding the first kindergarten in Mount Prospect, a sign of the German roots of the community. Different groups also began to use the Central Schoolhouse. The Mount Prospect Women's Club held their first meeting in the Central School in 1927. This group later founded the Mount Prospect Public Library, which of course, was originally housed in the first Central School. Throughout most of the great depression this building was the cornerstone of the community. Numerous different social clubs were formed to occupy people's time while they had little money to spend and many of these groups met in the Central School. The building housed the first movie screen in Mount Prospect, assuring its importance to the community for entertainment.

In 1937, with the proposed expansion of the Central Standard School, it was clear that the land the original Central School stood on was needed. The Mount Prospect forefathers realized that this building was far too important to the community to demolish it. After much debate on what would happen to the school, they sold the building to Saint John's Episcopal Church with the understanding that the building would then be moved onto a different property, opening the needed land for the expanded Central Standard School. The building was moved in 1939 to its current location and became the first permanent home of Saint John's Episcopal Church, which held services in the building through 1954 when they build a larger church. The first schoolhouse was then used as administrative offices. The building was purchased by the Mount Prospect Historical Society in 2002 with the intention of preserving this building and moving it to a new permanent home. 

The value of this building to the community extends from its history into its future. The Mount Prospect Historical Society plans to move this building to a new permanent site and undergo a process of adaptive restoration that will restore this building to its historically mixed role as an educational building, a meeting place, and center for the community. In keeping with our mission statement, the building will be made available to school groups, clubs, and individuals that are interested in local and American history. For the educational community in Mount Prospect this building will be a significant addition to the available resources.