Emden Historical Society hosts Open House at Bethel School, a valued property of Logan County history

[October 01, 2018]   The Emden Historical Society held an open house at the Bethel one-room schoolhouse this past Sunday. The restored schoolhouse is an important site of local history for the county. The Bethel church across the street, also a significant landmark for the area, was also open to members of the public.

The school is located one mile south of the Hopedale turnoff on Route 136; 2.5 miles east of the Interstate 55 interchange.

The Bethel schoolhouse was deeded to the Emden Historical Society in late 2005, after Emden resident Lloyd Mitchell’s passing. The ground was originally deeded in 1862, and Bethel School became a part of District 4 in 1867. The school later transferred to District 88. The school closed in 1948 after 81 years of holding students in grades first through eighth.

The school house was previously open for a similar event in 2006. Since then, the Society has spent twelve years continuing to update and improve the building and the grounds the school sits on.

According to information provided at the open house, the windows have been updated, as has the siding on the outside. Both the windows and the siding needed to be rebuilt with some newer materials, as the originals proved to be difficult and costly to maintain.

The Society was also able to locate one of the original map hangers from the school containing at least one historical map inside, and they also located the original black boards behind the slate boards that were installed sometime after the 1890's at the front of the classroom.

[Derek Hurley]