Jan 8, 2017 3 min read

Take a drive through rural America and you’ll inevitably stumble across the remnants of a one-room schoolhouse.

There are many schoolhouses across Western Pennsylvania, many of which have withered away and fallen into disrepair over the years.

But thanks to a few civic-minded organizations in our area, some of these historic buildings have been restored and stand as a reminder of the genesis of public education in our country.

The dichotomy between restoration and disrepair can be seen in the southwestern corner of Washington County. On one end of East Finley Township is Stony Point Schoolhouse, now used to store hay, with its tilting bell tower, broken windows and crumbling slate roof.

Just a few miles down the road is a much different sight. The refurbished Jordan Schoolhouse is considered a crown jewel in East Finley. Now used for civic events, educational tours for young students and even weddings, the Jordan Schoolhouse is a testament to what can be done to preserve our history.

Melissa Metz, the township secretary who helped to save the schoolhouse after mine subsidence in the area threatened it, said it’s one of the last schoolhouses that remains standing in East Finley.

“This was the last one that wasn’t falling down,” she said. “The rest are decrepit or gone.”

In order to bring public education to children living in rural farming areas and backwater towns in the mid-19th century, these schoolhouses popped up all over the area and were used for more than 100 years by many generations of children. By the 1960s, most had closed as municipalities were required to merge school districts with sprawling school campuses.

Over the past 50 years, the schoolhouses were left to rot and be forgotten by most people. Almost everyone, that is.

In the Mon Valley, the old stone Concord School in Rostraver Township, constructed in 1830, is a rare survivor. Owned by Westmoreland County and operated by Rostraver Township Historical Society, the schoolhouse is open to the public on Sundays in the summer to allow people to see the majestic building for themselves.

Meanwhile, Greene County Historical Society and numerous volunteers helped to save the old Crouse Schoolhouse near Rogersville and in August held a grand reopening, inviting the community and several former students who spent their youth there. It took years of planning and fundraising, and the group had to overcome many obstacles, including a leaking roof that nearly derailed the project. But the final result is a beautiful tribute to the teachers and students who once crowded inside.

“It was a part of history that was going to be gone,” said Buzz Walters, who was instrumental in restoring the Crouse. “Once these schoolhouses are gone, so is their history.”

And that seems to be what is happening in Peters Township, where the future of the old Bower Hill School is in jeopardy. The municipality bought the building in 2013, but as estimates to restore the schoolhouse mounted, township officials decided recently to sell the property to a private party.

Here’s hoping the new owner can make strides to preserve the history where the township could not. Fundraising and an army of volunteers will be necessary to save it, like any old schoolhouse.

It’s a labor of love to restore these old buildings, and there are many roadblocks and setbacks along the way. But the Jordan and Crouse, along with many other successful projects across our region, have shown it can be a worthy investment that has a lasting impact on a community.