Jefferson Township School #2 Renovation Purpose

     This project was truly a community and school collaboration. Not only were we able to preserve and renovate one of the oldest buildings in Gahanna, but this school currently serves as a learning resource for teachers and community members now and hopefully for many years to come. The school has been furnished with authentic items from 1869-1927, the time period the building served as a one room schoolhouse. It is open to the local community for scheduled visits and special events, and especially to the students and teachers in Gahanna schools. In particular, third grade students in the Gahanna­ Jefferson School District learn about state and local history, and they now have a living history museum to visit.

     These students are able to come to the schoolhouse to go through a day-long simulation of what it was like to attend school in the 1800's. Retired teachers and community members serve as the schoolmarms or school masters. Other adults serve as famous "visitors" to the schoolhouse from the time period. These famous Ohio visitors include Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, Abraham Lincoln, and Susan B. Anthony, to name a few. Any other classes in the district (US History, American Literature, Teaching Professions etc.) and any community organizations (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Church Groups etc.) are also able to schedule a field trip or visit. Each year well over 1,500 students and community members visit the schoolhouse for a tour, field trip or speaking event. 

     When students can truly see, touch and experience history, it takes on a very different meaning than reading about it in a textbook. It is also important for students to understand that history is not just about famous people. Individuals from long ago who lived in their own community and who were just going about their daily lives are of real historical significance, and their legacy should not be forgotten.

​

History of the Schoolhouse Restoration Project

     This project was started over fifteen years ago, when it was determined that an old building located on Route 62 in front of the Gahanna YMCA was once a one­ room schoolhouse. Local high school teacher Tom Gregory had long suspected that the structure was actually an old schoolhouse, and when he noticed back in 2008 that the property was for sale, he and his TV production students conducted research through the Gahanna Historical Society as well as through some old records in the Franklin County Engineer's office.

     Gahanna Historical Society member and former president, Jean Jarvis, had also done some research about the building a number of years ago, and had recorded interviews of Gahanna residents who recalled attending the one-room schoolhouse. A conversation with Jean Jarvis led Gregory to long-time Gahanna Resident Norma Jean Gorsuch, who actually produced a photograph from 1899 in which her mother, who was only 7 years old at the time, was standing with her teacher and classmates in front of that very building.

     The records provided by the County Engineer's Office, the transcripts of the interviews, and the photograph itself proved definitively that the building, which had been converted into a garage in 1927, was in fact a one-room schoolhouse built around 1869.

     Gregory asked the current owner of the run-down building if he would be willing to donate the structure, or sell the land at a greatly reduced price, so the schoolhouse could be restored. The owner was not interested in donating the structure, but told Gregory he could buy the property for what amounted to close to a million dollars.  At that point,  Gregory abandoned the idea of restoring the one-room schoolhouse. Then, a few years later, the City of Gahanna purchased the property for only $15,000 and leased it back to the Gahanna YMCA to eventually cover the purchase cost, with the agreement from the YMCA that the City would demolish both the house and the garage--the former one room schoolhouse-- which had long been in a state of disrepair and which had prompted complaints over the years from Gahanna residents.

     Shortly before the City was set to demolish the house and garage, Gregory happened to notice an article in the local newspaper about the demolition, and he and his Advanced TV Broadcasting students immediately scheduled a meeting to discuss the structure with city officials, who had no knowledge of the historical significance of the building. Gregory requested that they hold off demolishing the garage-formerly the one-room schoolhouse-to give him and his students a chance to raise funds in order to move and renovate the building. The city agreed to wait and give Gregory and his students some time. Over the course of the next 10 to 12 months, fundraising efforts led by Tom Gregory and his WGLH-TV broadcasting students brought in nearly $80,000 from local businesses, organizations and citizens, which was enough to save the structure.

     In November 2012 the building was carefully dismantled, brick by brick and slate by slate. The pieces were all labeled and put on pallets to be stored over the winter. After working with school officials to determine a favorable location, an Architecture and Construction Management student from the Eastland Fairfield Career and Technical Schools named Trevor Swanson helped to draw up the reconstruction plans and elevations under the direction of Gahanna architect George Parker of George Parker and Associates. It was a learning experience for all the students in the Eastland Fairfield Architecture Program to take the 150 year old bricks, slate, building plans and to guide the reconstruction process of the one room schoolhouse to be as historically accurate as possible. 

​

Community Involvement in the Schoolhouse Project

​

     During the 2012-2013 school year, community member Jan Elzey, who agreed to lend his expertise to the project after reading about it in the local newspaper, worked hard to rework the original windows and doors as well as to reconstruct the Bell Tower. He also agreed to use his knowledge and expertise to serve as the construction coordinator, a massive undertaking requiring countless hours of donated work. Gregory worked throughout the winter to acquire desks, map cases, teaching tools, and other antique objects that were authentic to the era and would furnish the schoolhouse (it should be noted that Mrs. Gregory deserves special mention at this point for agreeing to pack many of these items into the family's living room, family room, garage, and shed over the winter).

     In late spring of 2012 the drawings were submitted to the city for approval. In early July of 2012 the zoning was approved and construction began. Many local individuals either donated or offered their work at a much reduced cost in order to keep the cost within the budget. Local brick mason Jack Mangus and his crew worked very hard to use all the original materials and reconstruct them as authentically as possible. Boy Scout Troop 98 from Stonybrook United Methodist Church was responsible for digging all the holes and putting up the split rail fence. A one-ton stone, brought in by crane at a greatly reduced price from local Gahanna stone company Semco, was placed at the entrance of the schoolhouse to serve as the entrance stoop. It took the efforts of hundreds of people throughout the area donating their expertise, time, money, and items to help make this building a reality. We cannot thank everyone enough for their generosity.

 

Ruth Earl Attended the One Room Schoolhouse

​

     100 year-old Gahanna native Ruth Earl was interviewed by Gregory and his Advanced Broadcasting students about her time attending the one room schoolhouse and her life experiences. She said she hasn't experienced everything life has to offer but she has enjoyed everything she has tried. "I've had a good life," she said. "I've visited every state except Alaska. I never thought I'd make it to 100, but I'm glad I did. I have many wonderful friends."

    She's proud of being the longest-serving member of the Mifflin Presbyterian Church at 123 Granville Street, having first attended services there when she was 10. The former Gahanna third-grade teacher turned 100 on June 14, 2013 but she wanted to make sure she reached the mark before scheduling a celebration.

   Earl grew up on her parents' farm on McCutcheon Road with two sisters and three brothers, all of whom lived to be into their 90s. She went to the Gahanna one-room schoolhouse her first year of school in Gahanna in 1919. She remembers "her teacher riding in a horse and buggy right up to the schoolhouse on the first day of school. They had all grades in the school, and the older students would help to teach the younger ones."

     After graduating in 1930 from Gahanna Lincoln High School, Earl attended Capital University and received a degree in education. She taught elementary education for almost 11 years in Gahanna. Earl was the third­ grade teacher to 89-year-old Norma Jean Gorsuch, whose relatives built the one-room schoolhouse that was restored. 

     When asked the keys to longevity, she said, "I prayed a lot." Earl, who turned 100 in June of 2013, attended the one-room schoolhouse herself, and was thought to be the last living Gahanna resident at the time who actually remembered attending a local one-room schoolhouse. She passed away just a few months after the dedication of the one room schoolhouse in October of 2013.