Whitney Schoolhouse Restoration Celebrated in Weekend Event

CAMPTON HILLS, IL — A celebration recognizing restoration work of the second-oldest one-room schoolhouse in northeastern Illinois will be held this weekend. The Skyline Council of Landmarks Illinois is partnering with Campton Township to host the Whitney Schoolhouse Celebration on from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 20, on the grounds of the historic, 1852 Whitney Schoolhouse in Kane County, according to a news release from Landmark Illinois. The event is meant to allow community members to see the school house up close and tour other historic sites on the Daniel Whitney Residence and Farmstead, located at 40W011 Burlington Road, at the intersection of Old Burlington and Wasco Roads.

Pioneer activities, live music by Matthew Janecek and The Western Sage and food will be available for purchase at the event.

The Skyline Council has been working to restore the pre-Civil War Whitney Schoolhouse for the last four years. For a time, the council was working to move the schoolhouse to a new location to ensure its preservation, according to the news release.

However, Campton Township is acquiring the 6.1-acre farmstead where the historic schoolhouse is located from previous property owners Karen and Art Gustafson, who owned it for over 50 years. The Whitney family owned the land until 1934. The township’s acquisition means the historic Whitney Schoolhouse, as well as other historic structures on the land, including the Daniel Whitney residence and agricultural outbuildings, will be preserved.

“As we approach the 170-year anniversary of the opening of the Whitney Schoolhouse, it’s an exciting opportunity to preserve the schoolhouse in its original location,” said Erica Ruggiero, a member of the Skyline Council who has led the schoolhouse restoration project. “Our work also protects the architectural legacy of the Whitney Family, the heritage of historic Wasco and the native landscapes of Campton Township, and Illinois.”

To date, the Skyline Council and Campton Township have raised over $130,000 in pro-bono services, donated supplies and grants to complete investigative work, clean-up, structural repairs, a new foundation and other restoration work for the schoolhouse. Skyline Council is continuing to take donations to help with the exterior restoration of Whitney Schoolhouse. And the Skyline Council GoFundMe page has been set as part of the fund-raising effort.

Organizers are also actively looking to partner with qualified individuals and companies in the building trades as well to provide pro-bono services for additional future restoration work, Landmark Illinois officials said.

Landmarks Illinois, the only statewide nonprofit in Illinois dedicated to helping people save historic places, has awarded $35,250 in grant funding to historic preservation projects across the state. The nine individual grants were awarded through Landmarks Illinois Preservation Heritage Fund and the Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund grant programs between January and June 2019.

Individual grant amounts range from $950 to $6,000 each. Landmarks Illinois grants provide funding to nonprofit- and government agency-led preservation projects in Illinois communities. All grants are matching grants, which requires the recipient to raise funds equal or greater to the Landmarks Illinois grant amount. A recent impact study revealed that, while relatively small, LI grants often serve as a catalyst for major transformation at Illinois historic sites. Every $1 a grant recipient receives from Landmarks Illinois is matched by more than $16 from other sources, according to the study.

In addition, Landmark Illinois announced Tuesday that $5,000 in grants would be awarded to the Whitney Schoolhouse for structural repairs. The schoolhouse was selected to receive one of nine grants awarded through the Landmark Illinois Preservation Heritage Fund and the Barbara C. and Thomas E Donnelley II Preservation Fund between January and June 2019

All grants are matching grants, which requires the recipient to raise funds equal or greater to the Landmarks Illinois grant amount. A recent impact study revealed that, while relatively small, LI grants often serve as a catalyst for major transformation at Illinois historic sites.

Every $1 a grant recipient receives from Landmarks Illinois is matched by more than $16 from other sources, according to the study.

More information is available on the Landmark Illinois website.