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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Stony Point Schoolhouse, moved recently from the land where it stood since the 1800s, will be saved by a former student with plans to restore it.
Power lines were raised and the schoolhouse settled on a new foundation on a 120-acre farm owned by Rae Jeanne Kilberger, 85, at 6304 Ellis Rd. NW in Cedar Rapids. Kilberger attended the school for two years as a seventh- and eighth-grader in 1948-50, and wants to see the historical building being given new life.
Kilberger said she plans to restore the schoolhouse to how she remembers it when she went to school there, including replacing the windows, refinishing the floor and repairing the water-damaged walls and roof.
"There's not many (one-room schoolhouses) around," Kilberger told the Cedar Rapids Gazette. "I really believe kids today need to learn how it was to have eight grades under one teacher."
Stony Point schoolhouse was built on the corner of what is now Stoney Point Road old Highway 94 (Covington Road and F Avenue NW) on a farm later acquired in the early 1900s by Frank and Ida Davis. The Davis family kept the school and grounds in good condition, letting church and civic groups use the property for meetings and social events.
The Davis family still owns the property where the schoolhouse originally sat. Laurie Church, co-owner of the property with her sister, Vicki Davis, said she hates to see the old school move but is glad it will be restored.
Church said she painted the schoolhouse and put a new sign out front years ago, but the building was constantly vandalized. "I hope it's a little more protected now," she said.
Kilberger said she doesn't care about the expense of relocating and restoring the school. "Fortunately, I have the money to pay for it," she said.
Cindy Hadish, a board member for the historic preservation group Save CR Heritage, which was not involved in the move, estimates the cost of moving the schoolhouse to be about $25,000.