Well, sometimes, even with the best laid plans, you have to reschedule. What was our Back to School Party for parents is now our WE SURVIVED THE STORM PARTY!
It was wet, at times it was
unpleasant, but one way or the other, it is in the past, so let's have a party!
The Mount Prospect Historical Society and Bogie’s Ale House are co-sponsoring a
We Survived the Storm Party from 6 p.m. to midnight, Friday, September 7th. Kids
are back in school, the power is back on, take a break, have some pizza.
In the upstairs rooms of Bogie’s a pizza buffet will be available for $10 from 6 to 9:30 PM and will be followed by a music provided by a DJ until 11:30. Twenty percent of food and drink purchases will be donated to the Central School project.
The highlight of the evening will be a massive celebrity silent auction featuring a collection of autographed cards collected by the Mount Prospect Historical Society and the Mount Prospect Library Foundation.
“We have amassed quite a collection ranging from presidential candidate John McCain to movie star Kevin Costner and from game show host Bob Barker to documentary film maker Ken Burns,” said Gavin Kleespies, executive director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. “In fact, we have a complete, signed set of Ken Burns’ groundbreaking Civil War documentary.”
“We will also be auctioning over 100 items of sports memorabilia including signed White Sox and Cubs jerseys, footballs signed by the Bears, signed Wolves hockey pucks and more. Rounding out the auction will be an auction of school chairs that have been decorated by local artists and village notables. This will be a huge auction with literally everything from Elijah Wood to Tiger Woods,” Kleespies said.
Food, music, celebrity auctions and a good cause will combine to make this the party of the year! And your contributions to the schoolhouse are tax deductible
Mark your calendars now!
Press Release 8.15.2007
Local Artists Pitch in To Help Central School
Local artists, community leaders and Village Departments have all offered up their artistic talents to help a very special school in town. Groups from the Public Works Department to Saint Raymond’s School have decorated old school chairs to be auctioned off to benefit the Central School, Mount Prospect’s 1896, one room schoolhouse.
If you would like to see some of the desks, before they are auctioned, six of them are on display at the Mount Prospect Public Library until August 23rd. These include desks designed by: Officer Friendly of the Mount Prospect Police Department, St. Raymond’s School, Sally Tibbitts, Mel Blomberg, Nancy Fisk, and the Village of Mount Prospect Public Works Department.
The auction will be held on Friday, August 24th in the upstairs at Bogie’s Ale House (303 Kensington Road, across from Randhurst). The event will include a Pizza Buffet for $10 per person, from 6 to 9:30, musical entertainment provided by a DJ from 9:30 to 12 and a series of silent auctions, including the decorated school chairs and a series of celebrity materials. For more information, please visit: www.yourcentralschool.org or call 847.392.9007.
Time to pop the Champaign corks! PARTY FOR PARENTS FEATURING A HUGE CELEBRITY AUCTION!
Time to pop the Champaign corks! The kids are going back to school! Summers are great. But by August, we are ready for the kids to go back to school.
The Mount Prospect Historical Society and Bogie’s Ale House are co-sponsoring a Back to School Party for parents from 6 p.m. to midnight, Friday, August 24, to celebrate the re-appearance of school buses.
In the upstairs rooms of Bogie’s a pizza buffet will be available for $10 from 6 to 9:30 PM and will be followed by a music provided by a DJ until 11:30. Twenty percent of food and drink purchases will be donated to the Central School project.
The highlight of the evening will be a massive celebrity silent auction featuring a collection of autographed cards collected by the Mount Prospect Historical Society and the Mount Prospect Library Foundation.
"We have amassed quite a collection ranging from presidential candidate John McCain to movie star Kevin Costner and from game show host Bob Barker to documentary film maker Ken Burns,” said Gavin Kleespies, executive director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. “In fact, we have a complete, signed set of Ken Burns’ groundbreaking Civil War documentary.”
"We will also be auctioning over 100 items of sports memorabilia including signed White Sox and Cubs jerseys, footballs signed by the Bears, signed Wolves hockey pucks and more. Rounding out the auction will be an auction of school chairs that have been decorated by local artists and village notables. This will be a huge auction with literally everything from Elijah Wood to Tiger Woods,” Kleespies said.
Food, music, celebrity auctions and a good cause will combine to make this the party of the year! And your contributions to the schoolhouse are tax deductible
Mark your calendars now!
Mount Prospect’s New Pie Champion
Mount Prospect has a new champion. The first annual Great Mount Prospect Pie Contest was held on Saturday June 23rd. Julie Haapala’s apple pie was chosen in the “Most Like Mother’s” category, while Pam Nelson won the Best Presentation with her Strawberry and Blueberry pie. Cindy Bork’s Blackberry pie was chosen by Mayor Irvana Wilks, Officer Bill Roscop (MPPD), Micheal Putz (President of the Chamber of Commerce), and Jim Usler (Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce) as the winner of the Celebrity Judge Choice award. The big winner of the day was Maria Kusta’s Chocolate Chip and Walnut pie, which won the People’s Choice as the Best Pie in Mount Prospect. Culver’s Restaurant, located at 1501 Dempster Street, supplied everyone with frozen custard to go with their pie samples. Every one who attended seemed to have a great time and enjoy their pie and frozen custard. The event was a fund raiser for the Central School Project.
Press
Release 6.06.07
The Central School has a new friend.
The Central School has a new good friend. The Cummins-Allison Corporation of Mount Prospect, Illinois, has made a $2,500 donation toward the preservation of the 1896 one-room schoolhouse. “This generous contribution will help the Historical Society in its campaign to save this meaningful building,” said Paul Hoefert, who helped to facilitate the donation. “The Society has been working hard to preserve this building, and has done a great job at making this a community wide project,” continued the Village Trustee.
The Central School was the first public school in the community and the first home of the Mount Prospect Public Library, St. Paul Lutheran Church, The Volunteer Fire Department, St. John’s Episcopal Church, The Camp Fire Girls, South Church, and the Woman’s Club. It was also the site where the letters of incorporation for the Village of Mount Prospect were signed, making it the birthplace of the community.
Products manufactured by Cummins Allison are used by banks, armored carriers, retailers, governments, casinos, amusement parks and others to count, sort and verify the authenticity of coin and paper currency throughout the world. The Company’s manufacturing and international headquarters are in Mount Prospect.
“Cummins-Allison is proud to be a part of the Mount Prospect community and participate in the Central School restoration project. Central School will help preserve our cultural heritage and provide an important educational resource for future generations,” said Bill Jones, Chairman of the Cummins-Allison Corporation.
“This is the most historically significant building in town, and as one of the few remaining one-room schools in Illinois, is important to the entire region,” said Gavin W. Kleespies, Executive Director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. “We have had a great response to our campaign to save this building. We have over 500 donors, many of whom have given multiple times. The campaign has grown beyond the boundaries of Mount Prospect; attracting donors from 31 different communities in nine states. Unfortunately, we face a very tight deadline to raise a lot of money. This generous donation from Cummins-Allison is a great help.”
For more information please see www.yourcentralschool.org.
Students of Lions Park School do chores to save local landmark
Mount Prospect: The students of the second grade classes of the Lions Park School could teach many of us a lesson. They all pitched in and worked doing extra chores and collecting change to help raise money for a community project. The five second grade classes raised $1,000.45 which they donated toward the preservation of Mount Prospect’s first school, the Central School. The students are not just supporting any old school, this building is an 1896 one room schoolhouse and is one of the last one room schools left in Cook County. It was the first home of the Public Library, the fire department, three local churches, School District 57, and was the first school in Illinois to cross township lines, being partially in Elk Grove and partially in Wheeling. These students are not alone in their support for this project. Recently, both the Elk Grove and the Wheeling Historical Societies have made donations towards saving this building. “We have received donations from over 500 different donors, from 30 different towns in 10 different states. From Massachusetts to Iowa to California, this has become a great grass roots project” said Gavin W. Kleespies, Executive Director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. “However it is a big project, moving the building is only part of the cost, we will have to pay to move the utility lines that cross the path, pay for plans and permits, and build a new foundation for it to sit on. The scale of the project is about the same as building a new house,” he continued. People interested in learning more about this project of donating to support it can go to www.yourcentralschool.org or call the Historical Society at 847-392-9006.
The Great Mount Prospect Pie Event—June 23
Are you are pie aficionado, enthusiastically digging into any flaky crust to
find the luscious filling within? Or do you enjoying baking pies and watching
people enjoy them?
The Mount Prospect Historical Society is trying something new this summer. We
will hold “The Great Mount Prospect Pie Event” on Sat. June 23, at the Mount
Prospect Public Library, 10 S. Emerson St., to let pie lovers determine through
tasting who is the best pie maker in the Village. The event will correspond with
the Special Events Commission’s Fine Arts Festival, held outside the village
hall, so there will be crowds of people and lots to do. You can eat pie, look at
art, talk to your neighbors, and make new friends.
Participants will include professionals such as Dave’s Specialty Foods and
members of the public. Frozen custard from Culver’s will be available to
compliment your pie. Each entrant will submit two pies for each category they
compete in – one to display and one to be sampled.
Pies will be judged by a celebrity panel and members of the public, who will pay for coupons for pie samples. Similar to The Taste of Chicago, there will be no admission fee. People will be allowed to buy as many coupons as they want and share if they wish. At the end of the event, the winners of multiple categories, such as “Best Pie in Mount Prospect” or “Most Like Mother’s Pie” or “Most Original Pie” will be announced and trophies will be awarded.
All types of pies are accepted and everyone in the community is encouraged to get involved. To compete in the contest, please contact Gavin W. Kleespies at the Mount Prospect Historical Society office (847) 392-9006. A $10 reservation fee is due by May 15 if you wish to enter the contest. At the end of the event, uncut pies will be raffled off to the public.
Press Release 1.18.07
New Curriculum for Old School
Mount Prospect: Even old schools need new ideas and in Mount Prospect the oldest school is the recent beneficiary of some exciting new ideas. The Mount Prospect Historical Society has been working for the past five years to move and preserve the community’s first schoolhouse and they now have some new plans for the school. Deb Rittle, a teacher at St. Paul Lutheran School for the past 12 years and a member of the board of directors for the Historical Society since 2002, has recently finished her Masters Degree and as a part of her degree has written a new curriculum for the venerable old Central School.
“This curriculum focuses on teaching the students about the history of Mount Prospect and one-room schools through a series of discovery boxes and a living history component. It is closely tied to Illinois State Learning Standards, and includes activities in a variety of subject areas.” said Rittle. “I first thought of this while working on another project focusing on using community resources with the Central School as the focal point. I know from teaching in the past that students really connect with real life experiences and hands on activities.” she continued.
“This will be an important part of the use of the school after it has been moved, renovated, and opened to the public,” said Gavin W. Kleespies Executive Director of the Historical Society. “We have always considered this building a great educational resource and have planned to bring the schoolhouse back as a resource for all community schools.”
Once moved and restored, the Italianate schoolhouse will also be available for other uses, such as wedding receptions, club meetings, and small gatherings. Rittle’s curriculum, which includes components to be used in the class room and at the Central School was a part of her final project completing her Masters Degree from the Northern Illinois University in December of 2006. For more information go to www.yourcentralschoool.org
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Press Release 1.10.07
The Little Schoolhouse that could!
The Central School, an 1896 one-room schoolhouse in Mount Prospect, IL is a small building making big waves. The local Historical Society has been working for the past several years to move the school and restore it, and the project is gaining momentum. The Central School ended 2006 with more than half of the funds needed to support the move and restoration, with over $28,000 raised in just the last two months of the year. More than 500 households have contributed toward the project.
“The vast majority of these donations are from families. There are a few businesses and a couple of major contributions from organizations, but the bulk of the contributions are from the very root of the grass roots.” said Gavin W. Kleespies, Executive Director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. “We’ve raised more than $83,000 in cash and another $77,000 worth of “in-kind” donations, for a total of funds raised to-date in excess of $160,000,” he explained. “But this is a huge project and there is a long way to go toward the $300,000 price tag for the move and finished restoration. It’s like building a small house; we’ve paid for architectural drawings, worked with a civil engineer, and applied for the necessary building permits. The only difference is that our building was built over 110 years ago!
The building was the first school in the village, which at the time was little more than a wide spot in the road with a population of around 50. At that time, the community was made up mainly of German immigrant farmers who, like their counterparts in most of the small towns across the American west, had high hopes for future development. Happily, most of the dreams of this small community came true and the Mount Prospect of today is a thriving suburb of Chicago with a population more than a thousand times the size of the community that built the Central School. This school has stood through all of these developments, and played a key role in many of them. The papers of incorporation for the village were signed in the school, the Public Library started out in the coat room of the Central School, and numerous clubs and churches started out meeting in the building.
“This is the biggest capital campaign by small organization in town in years,” says Leo Floros, former Village trustee and fund-raising advisor on the schoolhouse project. “This is a huge project for a little organization,” Floros adds. “This is epic! The fact that the Historical Society has been able to get to this point is amazing and is a testament to the value and history of this building. Through the efforts of this small independent organization, donors from eight different states have stepped forward with contributions.”
“The preservation of the few original one-room schoolhouses in America is an issue of national significance” said Kleespies. “The Central School represents a lost time in the history of Mount Prospect and the Midwest, a time of small farming communities dotting the open prairie. We have a golden opportunity to save this historically important building, but if we turn our backs on it, another piece of our heritage will be lost forever. These small schools were the tangible history of small town America. With every one-room schoolhouse lost, America loses a tangible piece of where it came from.”
“This is an important project,” said Floros. “Preserving the few remaining one-room schools is the job of everyone who has fond memories of growing up in small town America and for everyone who wants their children and grandchildren to know their history, to know about the bustling farm towns of the Midwest, and the ambitious immigrant communities that built this great country.”
To learn more or to make a donation, please go to www.yourcentralschool.org.
A Walk Through the Past with Roberta Skelton
A few weeks ago the local journalist Jean Murphy included in her column a call for people who remembered the original Central School to contact the Historical Society to reminisce about the building. One of the people who contacted the Society was Roberta Skelton, who had not only attended the school, but had also been one of the early members of Saint John’s Episcopal Church.
She had moved to Mount Prospect as a small child in 1935 and started first grade in the original Central School in 1937. The second Central School, or the Central Standard School, had been built about ten years earlier, but as the community grew the school district had run into space concerns again. As the original Central School was still standing on the same lot, it was pressed back into service and was used for the first grade for a number of years. Ms. Skelton remembered that the students would enter the building through the back door, a door that is still on the building, although no longer used. She also remembered her teacher, Miss Bloom, and that the first grade students did not sit at desks, but rather at tables. She confirmed what we had been told before, that the bell in the tower is from one of the last steam trains that traveled along the Chicago Northwestern tracks. She was able to flush the story out a bit more by remembering that the bell had been secured for the school by John Pohlman, the first station master in Mount Prospect and a good friend of William Busse who was responsible for the organization of School District 57 and the construction of the Central School. Ms. Skelton also talked about how the one room school was heated by a large, rectangular, wood burning stove at the front of the class, which was better than the pot bellied stove that had been their earlier. However, when the school was moved, the stove was removed and it was discovered that the stove had charred the floor boards and that the building had probably come within inches of burning down.
Ms. Skelton was one of the last students to go to school in the building. Shortly after she moved into the second grade the Central Standard School was expanded to hold all the students in Mount Prospect and the original Central School was sold to Saint John’s and moved. The original Central School was sold for $750, which even in that day was a pretty cheep. School District 57 sold it at this price with the understanding that the building would be moved off the property, very similar to the way the building was sold to the Mount Prospect Historical Society. A developer had given Saint John’s a lot to move the building onto and soon the move was under way. Saint John’s was a very small church at this time and could not afford an extensive renovation of the Central School building. When the building was moved, the vibrations caused all the plaster to crumble on the walls, so that when it arrived at its new home the walls were the naked lathe boards. For a time, Saint John’s covered the walls with burlap until they could raise the money to have the walls re-plastered. The church got by on what it had and a lot of dedication from the original members. The first pews for the church had been donated by other churches in the area and did not all match, while the alter was built by church members. Many other repairs to the building were done by church members.
The Central School became the first permanent home of Saint John’s Episcopal Church, although the Episcopal Women’s Guild of Mount Prospect had founded Saint John’s a couple years before they bought the Central School. They had been meeting temporarily in the VFW hall. When they moved into their permanent home, Ms. Skelton became the first child baptized in the permanent home of the church, making her both a first and a last for the building.
It was a pleasure speaking with Ms. Skelton, if any other members would like to come forward, please call the office.
The grassroots effort to move and preserve Mount Prospect's 1896 one-room school is heating up.
The Central School project has
been making great progress in the past couple of weeks. The Mount Prospect
Historical Society, which is heading up the campaign to relocate and preserve
the building, recently, undertook a publicity campaign to raise the funds to
move the building. The first phase of this campaign consisted of a series of a
three postcards, the first two of which have been mailed to every household in
the community. "From the first of these postcards, contributions have
started to come in and we can feel the momentum building,"
said Gavin W. Kleespies, executive director of
the Mount Prospect Historical Society. "The energy is
rising for this project and I encourage everyone to join the project now. They
can visit our website
www.yourcentralschool.org where they
can learn more and make a donation through our secure PayPal account." he added.
The Central School project also has received a timely and very welcome boost
from the Mount Prospect Lions Club, one of our community's premier service
groups. The Lions Club has donated funds from the proceeds of this year's
Farmer's Market to sponsor the accessibility ramp for the schoolhouse. "This
donation both helps preserve this wonderful old building and fulfills the Lions
Club's national mission to assist individuals with disabilities," Kleespies
explains.
"We've had a great start to this campaign, but there is much more to do," said
Frank Corry, Treasure of the Historical Society. "All told, this project is
equivalent to building a house. Even though the Central School itself is a very
small building, we still need to budget for the plumbing, sewer hookup,
electrical, sprinkler system, and many more items that add costs on top of the
expense of moving the building."
The Historical Society is also working to develop a larger regional and national publicity campaign through magazines, targeted letters, television programming, newspapers and the internet. Visit the campaign's website at www.yourcentralschool.org for further updates or to donate through our secure PayPal account.
A Small Organization With a Big Project!
The Mount Prospect Historical Society in Mount Prospect, IL is a small organization that has undertaken a big project. This local history group is working to pick up a school and move it. While this may sound like a daunting endeavor it is not without good reason. The project involves trying to relocate the Central School, an 1896 one-room schoolhouse that will be demolished if it is not moved.
“This beautifully constructed one-room schoolhouse doesn’t just represent 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 realized that they had lost an important link in the chain of their community’s history” said Gavin W. Kleespies Executive Director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society.
The building was built as the first school in the village, which at the time was little more than a wide spot in the road with a population of around 50. At the time, the community was mostly made up of German immigrant farmers who, like most of the small towns across the American west, had high hopes for future development. Many of the dreams of this small community came true and Mount Prospect today is a thriving suburb of Chicago with a population more than a thousand times the size of the community that built the Central School. This school has stood through all of these developments and has been a part of many of them. The papers of incorporation for the village were signed in the school, the Public Library started out in the coat room of the Central School and numerous clubs and churches started out meeting in the building. In 1939 the building was moved from its original location to make it possible to expand the community’s second school and it became home to a local church. In 2001, this church sold the building to the Historical Society for $1 with the agreement that the Historical Society would move the building off of their property so that they can do needed expansion and updating of their facilities.
“The Society is now ready to move the structure to a site right next to their current House Museum but first we have to have one more big push to raise the money needed,” says Marilyn Genther, Society president.
“This is the biggest capital campaign by small organization in town in years,” says Leo Floros, former Village trustee and fund-raising advisor on the schoolhouse project, along with his wife, Lil.
“This is a huge project for a little organization,” Lil Floros adds. “This is epic! The fact that the Historical Society has been able to get to this point is amazing and is a testament to the value and history of this building. Through the efforts of this small independent organization, donors from five different states have stepped forward with contributions.”
“It is time to finish this project,” she asserts.
The Society has contracted with a building mover, has had all of our architectural drawings done, has submitted all of the civil engineering calculations and has applied for the required permits. MPHS has worked out estimates or donations of services with all the utility companies and has walked the route with representatives of public works. The Society is ready to move, but before we move, we have one more big push raise the money needed. In the past four years, we have slowly but surely, raised $110,000 in cash and in-kind donations. We now need $200,000 to finish the project.
“The preservation of the few original one-room schoolhouses in America is an issue of national significance” said Kleespies. “The Central School represents a lost time in the history of Mount Prospect and the Midwest, a time of small farming communities dotting the open prairie. We have been given a great opportunity to save this building, if we turn our backs on it; another piece of our country’s history will be lost. These small schools were the tangible history of small town America, of the bustling intersections of the agrarian Midwest, and the diverse immigrant population that inhabited this country. For every one room schoolhouse that has been lost, America has lost a reminder of where it came from. Each frontier schoolhouse that has been demolished or allowed to collapse has made those that remain more valuable to the nation as a whole.”
“This is important,” said Leo Floros. “Preserving the few remaining one-room schools is the job of everyone who has fond memories of growing up in small town America and for everyone who wants their children and their grandchildren to know the history of their country, to know about the bustling farm towns of the Midwest and the ambitious immigrant communities that built this country.”
To learn more or to make a donation, please go to www.yourcentralschool.org
HISTORICAL SOCIETY KICKS OFF VILLAGE-WIDE
DRIVE TO MOVE 1896 SCHOOLHOUS
The Mount Prospect Historical Society has kicked off a massive, village-wide fund-raising drive to move the 1896 Central Schoolhouse from its current location at Thayer and Wille Streets to its new location at 103 S. Maple St., next door to the Dietrich Friedrichs House Museum.
“Our hope is to move the schoolhouse this winter or early next spring in order to accommodate the wishes of the Public Works Department to keep damage to the trees along the moving route to a minimum,” says Marilyn Genther, President of the Mount Prospect Historical Society.
A series of three fund-raising postcards will be arriving in every residential mailbox in the Village over the next month. In addition, Society board members and other concerned citizens have been hand-writing appeal letters to former Housewalk homeowners, prominent citizens, former residents and elected officials. Appeals have also been local clubs and businesses.
“We are doing an all-out push in order to raise the $200,000 still necessary to make this move a reality,” explains Gavin W. Kleespies, Executive Director of MPHS.
“This move has become very costly thanks to the cost of moving electrical and cable lines at Central and Route 83; architectural plans; engineering work; permits from the state, IDOT and other non-Village entities; and so forth,” he adds. “The total cost of the project is $350,000, but the vast majority of those are upfront costs. Once the schoolhouse is in place on its foundation, it will only cost $50,000 to finish it and we expect many of those services will be donated.”
“We are determined to make this work,” he concludes. “This is the building in which our Village was incorporated! We cannot let it fall to the wrecking ball.”
For more information about the schoolhouse project, phone Gavin Kleespies, Executive Director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society, at 847-392-9006.
Historical Society 'wowed' by utility company!
Mount Prospect:
The Mount Prospect Historical Society got a huge boost in its effort to move the
1896 one-room Central School from its current location at 201 N. Wille St.,
Mount Prospect, to its future location at 103 S. Maple St., Mount Prospect, next
door to the Society's Dietrich Friedrich House Museum.
On Friday, June 9, the Historical Society was contacted by a representative of Wide Open West (WOW) cable who stated that the company had decided to waive all fees associated with dropping their cable lines so that the old frame schoolhouse could move to its new location.
In recent months the largest challenge for the Society has been working with the various utility companies to negotiate prices for dropping their utility lines so that the vintage school, one of only a handful remaining in Cook County, can pass down the street, according to Gavin W. Kleespies, executive director of the Society.
“This is a great step forward for the Central School project. We are thrilled with Wide Open West's donation and are 'wowed' by their community spirit,” said Kleespies.
For more information on this project please see www.yourcentralschool.org
Students take the lead in supporting the Central School project
Students across Mount Prospect have been stepping up to support The Central School project. The Forest View School in School District 59 has made two donations to the project totaling $503. The first donation was made in June of 2005 and second was raised through a rummage sale and was just received on June 9, 2006. The students of Lions Park School raised $808 by selling “Central School Dollars” in April and May of 2006. The Girls Scout Troop 1048 made a small donation, but the Boy Scouts Troop 23 are the current leaders with a donation of $1116. “It is wonderful that the next generation is stepping up to save the community’s history.” said Gavin W. Kleespies Executive Director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society. “the involvement of students today has a beautiful symmetry, as it connects the leaders of the past and with the leaders of the future. Many of the original students of the Central School went on to be business owners, public servants, and elected officials, and some of their grand children are now the students helping to preserve the building for the future.” The students in these schools and scout troops, join a list of community groups supporting this project that include: the Public Library, Mount Prospect Park District, River Trails Park District, Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, Moose Lodge, A.A. groups, Questers, the Mount Prospect Woman’s Club, and others. We are making great progress, but this is a huge project and we have still have further to go. For more information on how to join or help this community project, please go to www.yourcentralschool.org.
Where is the Central School?
Moving a building is a big project and the Historical Society is learning more and more about the process everyday. So the supporters of the schoolhouse project know where we are, this is a brief update on the process. So far, we have selected and either have contracts with or are working out contracts with: a building mover, an excavation company, a company to pour the foundation, an architect, a construction manager, and a lawyer. We are in discussions with a carpenter and three of the four utility companies we will have to deal with. We have worked with the Public Works Department to move the only tree that was an obstacle. We have sat down with the Building Department for the initial phase the permit process and have discussed the village utilities with Public Works. We still need to work with IDOT for permits to cross state roads. Complete the architectural drawings, do an environmental phase 1 study, have a consultation with an asbestos abatement contractor, and do material testing for the foundation, which will allow us to finish the permit process with the Village Building department. This is a large and complex process and we want to make sure we do the entire project at the highest standards, so it can seem slow at times, but we are making great progress.
Mount Prospect, Illinois has a wonderful old treasure that is currently threatened with extinction. But, several construction and architecture-related firms in the Chicago area are pitching in to help the local historical society preserve it.
The treasure is an old frame one-room schoolhouse, built in 1896. It is one of only a handful of these old schools still standing in the Chicago area and no one in the community wants to see it fall prey to the wrecking ball or be purchased by a collector, dissembled and reassembled somewhere far away.
Besides, this one-room schoolhouse is the most historically important building in the community. It was not only the first school in Mount Prospect, but was also the location where Mount Prospect’s early leaders gathered to sign the letters of incorporation for the Village. It also was the first home of the Mount Prospect Public Library, the Woman’s Club, the Fire Department, the Camp Fire Girls, Saint Paul Lutheran Church and Saint John’s Episcopal Church. It is unrivaled in terms of its value to the educational, cultural and spiritual history of this community of 56,000, northwest of Chicago.
Mount Prospect’s Central School was moved from its original location in town to its current one back in 1939 in order to serve as the original home of a local Episcopal congregation. But it has been years since the structure was used as a sanctuary and the congregation wants to clear the land it occupies to make way for much-needed off-street parking.
So four years ago the church sold the venerable old building to the local historical society for $1 on the understanding that the Society would spearhead an effort to move the building to a new location and preserve it. The cost of this move and adaptive restoration is estimated to be $250,000, which will include the construction of a temperature-controlled basement for secure storage of historic artifacts.
The Mount Prospect Historical Society has managed to raise <$> toward the move and restoration through bake sales, skating parties, solicitation letters, holiday ornament sales and so forth.
Norwood Builders Inc. of Chicago has recently agreed to donate its services to construct a new foundation on the new site. Ex/Tech excavation services of Arlington Heights will donate the excavation work and Chicago Town Concrete will donate the concrete.
Two different architectural firms, DLK Civic Design of Chicago (Kevin Kemp, principal) and Aumiller Youngquist, P.C. , also of Chicago, (Keith Youngquist, principal), have donated services on the project, but the Society is still looking for help on the final drawings.
The Society is also in need of a general contractor to supervise the work.
But a building mover has been chosen. R.J. Hallett Housemoving of Beloit, WI has been awarded the bid and Robert Hallett is currently working with the Society to obtain permits from various entities including the Illinois Department of Transportation and to get cost estimates from utilities including SBC, Commonwealth Edison, Wowway and Comcast for moving their lines to accommodate the tall little structure during its less than one mile move.
The timing of the actual move is dependent upon the permit process, the weather and, of course, the preparation work of the utilities.