Cemetery Walk To Raise Money For Big Woods Elementary Renovations

AURORA, IL — Big Woods Elementary School, a one-room schoolhouse in Aurora that served students in 1918 through 1963, is undergoing hefty renovations. To help raise money, the Big Woods School Foundation is holding a cemetery walk from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Guided small-group tours of the Big Woods Cemetery, located at 3033 N. Eola Road, will leave every 15 minutes from the cemetery's gates. Visitors are encouraged to bring flashlights and wear comfortable shoes for the walk, officials said.

Featured people on the walk will include Israel Warner, who was an American Revolution patriot; Anna Brown, who donated the cemetery land along with her husband; and members of the Ferry, Warne and Bartholomew families — the first families of the Big Woods area. Visitors will also be able to see the Brown family home, which is visible from the cemetery, during the walk.

Graves at Big Woods Cemetery date back to the 1830s, officials said.

To participate in the walk, admission is a $10 donation for everyone except children ages 7 and under who enter for free. Tickets can be purchased on the foundation's website. If Saturday's event gets rained out, the walk will take place Oct. 23 instead.

In October 2017, the one-room schoolhouse celebrated its 100th anniversary. The foundation held a gathering, during which members announced a $500,000 drive for the school's preservation and renovation, according to Kane County Connects. The plans also included building a 23-space parking lot.

Proceeds from ticket sales from Saturday's walk will go toward the renovation project. The Big Woods School Foundation also received a $50,000 grant award that will go toward restoring and repairing the school's terra cotta tile — the first step of the complete renovation planned for the school.

It was the first large grant the foundation received, and it helped them "protect the interior of the school from damage so that we may move on to the next phase of our restoration," according to a news release.

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