Dedicated in 1900, the schoolhouse of Milan Township District #83 replaced an earlier one built in the 1800s, which became too small to adequately handle the student enrollments. Through the years, it was commonly known by several other names, including Tysdal and Berg School. It occupied a small area on the northwest corner of what was originally the Osmund Knutson Tysdal farm at Perry and Tower Roads. It was approximately thirteen miles southwest of DeKalb.
The schoolhouse, a 24-foot by 36-foot structure, was built by farmers of the district at a cost of $850. Soon after its construction, the State of Illinois designated this schoolhouse as the best schoolhouse in northern Illinois. A coal-burning furnace in the basement heated the building. The heated air from the furnace rose through a single large grate in the classroom floor. The school had no well or indoor plumbing so students used two outhouses behind the school. Drinking water was provided by the neighbor across the road.
During each academic year, a teacher provided education for students in grades one through eight in the large, central classroom. Enrollment varied from year to year, but commonly totaled twenty or more. In addition to taking reading, writing and arithmetic, students received instruction in geography, physiology, grammar, U. S. history and drawing.
Because of a decline in the school-age population in the district, the school was closed at the end of the academic year in 1942. During its existence, over fourteen teachers taught in this school building, half of whom served just one year, and among which only one was a man. Eight of the women received their teacher preparation at Northern Illinois Normal School renamed Northern Illinois State Teachers College in 1921. Because of the school’s connection with Northern Illinois University and the university’s continuing commitment to teacher education, the Milan Township District #83 schoolhouse was reconstructed on Northern’s campus and dedicated on September 12, 1999, almost a hundred years after it was built.
The ReconstructionWork on the schoolhouse reconstruction began early in the summer of 1999 with the completion of the Country School Committee’s successful fundraising campaign of $125,000. The reconstruction followed the design of the original building and was planned with guidance from Ward Construction, with Jim Ward serving as general contractor and consultant.
The following components of the original school building were carefully removed and included in the new building:
In addition, many original artifacts from country schoolhouses located throughout the Midwest are displayed in the building. These items include the bell in the bell tower, the teacher’s desk, and the “hickory stick.” The reconstructed building has a new bell tower, natural gas heating (so students today do not get to suffer the cold), and a cement ramp to allow access to the building to persons with disabilities.
The Country School Committee, with members from both DeKalb County and Northern Illinois University, worked hard to reconstruct the school and provide a valuable resource to NIU pre-service teachers and local school children alike. Since Northern was founded as a school to train teachers, many of whom would teach in rural, one-room schoolhouses, it seemed only fitting to have the reconstructed Milan Township schoolhouse on campus.
The history of one-room schools has much to offer contemporary teachers, teachers-in-training, and educational researchers. That history may give us insights that can help us deal with the challenges we face today. One-room schools had what several new, more sophisticated education models are suggesting we need today: small classrooms, individualized instruction, programs that allow students to proceed at their own rate, peer tutoring, and the close involvement of committed parents and community members. By looking to the past, we can see how effective these methods were and how to improve them for use today. We can also investigate how rural communities handled modern day problems such as local control, school funding, values in education, and curricular concerns.
NIU and the larger DeKalb community are committed to preserving this legacy. The Blackwell History of Education Museum has developed programs and events for school children and adults that will bring them into contact with life as it was experienced in country schools. As part of the Blackwell Museum, the Milan Township school will serve as a reminder of what education once was and offer educators, both young and old, the opportunity to touch their region’s past. Many children will have the opportunity to learn about the way their grandparents went to school and learned.