For nearly 40 years, the former District 46 schoolhouse, the Benson school, has stood on the Burt County Fairgrounds. It was moved there in 1984 following its purchase for $1 by the Burt County Ag Society.
The building which originally stood about 4.5 miles east of Oakland, was abandoned two years earlier when the consolidation of the Oakland and Craig districts led half a dozen rural districts in the area to dissolve and join their bigger neighbors.
For years, the old building, a symbol of times gone by, had new life hosting art displays and serving other purposes during the county fair.
All that stopped in 2019 when floodwaters from the Logan Creek poured into the building. Last fall fair officials told the Burt County Board of Supervisors that the building would be demolished this spring unless someone triad to save it.
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Someone has.
A group that includes Jill Johnson and Terri Wallerstedt is working to give the building another chance at life. Plans are in the works to move the structure from the fairgrounds to Wallerstedt’s business, Harvest Moon Pumpkin Patch.
Wallerstedt admits an old country school won’t, by itself, do anything to attract more visitors to the attractive, and popular tourist site north of Oakland.
But that’s not the point.
“Twenty thousand people come through here in a year, 2,000 of them are school children. They’ll see it.” she said. “I am so glad people will be able to see a piece of history. They’ll get to see what going to school was like in those days, maybe they’ll appreciate what they have more.”
She said the old Benson school, although not presently in the best shape, is one of few former country schools in the county that’s still standing.
Wallerstedt bellieves that if an old building can be saved, it should be saved.
This one will have a special attraction for her.
“My mom taught in a one-room school,” she said. “Now, I’ll be a teacher, in a way.”
They plan to move the building to the rear of the pumpkin patch, back by where the corn maze stands. With parking near the highway and the schoolhouse clear in the back, visitors will get the feeling of walking great distances to school as was common in country school days
Since the school’s floor can’t be built back up, it will stand on a concrete slab at its new home. Plans are to move the building after Easter, if the weather allows.
Future plans call for partnering with non-profits to bring more school kids to the site in the spring, normally a down time at Harvest Moon.
Wallerstedt said that although the project has been a much larger undertaking than anticipated, they are getting the help they need.
“There are a lot of people who don’t want to see old buildings just fall down,” she said.
More help likely will be needed. The group plans to restore the building to its former glory. They want to replace the front dor, for example, with a door similar to the one it originally had, including the transom. They also want to replace the bell tower which had been removed years before the schoolhouse was moved to the fairgrounds. Wallerstedt said they have a bell, but it needs a tower.
Other renovation work also will need done.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the cause is asked to contact Wallerstedt, Jill Johnson or Kate Richards.