Chana School
Encyclopedia
Chana School is a Registered Historic Place
in the Ogle County, Illinois
, in the county seat of Oregon, Illinois
. One of six Oregon sites listed on the Register, the school is an oddly shaped, two-room schoolhouse which has been moved from its original location. Chana School joined the Register in 2005 as an education museum.
The schoolhouse was built in 1883, in the village of Chana, Illinois
. Due to the elimination of the Chana School District, the school was abandoned by the 1960s. A restoration
effort was undertaken in the late 1990s, ending with a move and refurbishment
in 2002 and 2003. The building now stands in a public park along the Rock River
in Oregon, Illinois
. Its interior also features architectural
elements which set it apart from the typical 19th-century schoolhouse. From a distance, the building is dominated by its bell tower
.
The Chana Pine Rock School was founded in 1883. It operated until 1953, when the school was retired. It was the only wooden, two-room schoolhouse
built in the area. One of the two classrooms was used by students in lower grades, the other by older students, up to eighth grade. Through the late early 1950s, one classroom was still used and the additional space used for storage.
was founded in 1871, half a mile northwest of White Oak School, which was built in 1869. Chana's early settlers sent their children to White Oak School up to eighth grade, but White Oak was abandoned in 1883 when Chana School was built in a park in Chana. The White Oak building was used as a storage barn for hay until a fire destroyed it in 1886. In 1893, a second classroom was added to the existing structure of Chana School.
Chana's first teacher was D.C. Sears, an Oregon, Illinois resident. The late 19th century saw at least ten individuals teach at Chana School at different times. By 1888, Pine Rock Township
was ready to address the question of whether or not to build a high school; Chana students attended high school
in Oregon. The question was brought to a vote but failed and Chana students continued to go to Oregon schools after eighth grade.
by the Chana School District. A large garage door was cut into the building and the floor completely removed. The smaller, 1893 room became a storage area. In 1962, the Chana School District ran out of room and used the building as an overflow classroom
. By the mid-1960s, the Chana District folded and was absorbed by the Oregon School District. Residents were allowed to remove any items from the school after the district shut down.
to help illustrate 1880s education in the United States.
The moving and restoration of the Chana School was facilitated, in part, by a US$
15,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
. The grant was intended to help restore the building to its original state, restore a sand hill prairie
on the site, develop museum exhibit space, and establish learning links to other museums in support of "the rural education focus" as part of the curriculum.
d roof and trademark bell tower. On the other hand, the building is unique among 19th-century schoolhouses. It does have some stylistic elements, mostly of the Italianate style. Examples include pedimented window crows and pronounced hoods over the belfry openings. However, Chana School's architectural difference lies in its design and, thus, its floor plan.
The building is designed in the Italianate style, with the specialty leanings demanded by a schoolhouse. The front facade
, which faces southwest today, is adorned with three doorways—left, right, and center— which span a front porch
beneath the bell tower
. When the school was open, the use of the doors was restricted. The left and right doors were used by boys in first through eighth grades while the middle door was earmarked as an entry for girls of all ages. Each of the doors feature transoms
topped with cornice
s.
The bell tower rises 43 feet (13.1 m), and halfway up its length is a large round sign. The sign denotes the school district, Pine Rock, and the year of the school's foundation. Originally, the sign graced the front exterior wall of the larger of the two rooms. The tower rises above the roof
by about fifteen feet and at its top are four arch
es, one on each side. Wooden construction is found throughout the tower, its arches, and the rest of the schoolhouse, save the limestone
and cement
foundation. At the bottom of each of the four arches are balustrades
decorated with spindles
. Inside the tower is the school bell. The bell house is topped with a multi-gabled roof. The roof of the overall schoolhouse is covered with cedar
shingles
and features chimney
s rising from each of the classrooms.
The building's southern facade, that of the original 1883 room, features three windows. The same room has two rear windows of the same style. The windows are all double hung and of four-over-four design.
The south entrance to the larger room is Chana School's most original portion. A pine
wood floor, original closet
, built-in water stand
, and pressed tin
on the ceiling are among the original features found in this portion of the building. The interior of the bell tower is adorned with shelving, coat hooks, and two exits; one into the smaller classroom and the other, between the semi-circular walls, to the coat room. The bell rope hangs 14.5 feet (4.4 m) from the ceiling.
The interior of the 1883 room has been restored to its original appearance. The red oak floor is trimmed by nine inches of mop board and quarter-round, decoratively accented. The two curved and semi-circular front walls mark the two coat rooms in the original, one-room building. The rounded walls hold a chair rail and are wainscoted below the blackboards
. Blackboards cover available space on the north, east, and south walls. Pressed tin extends over the ceiling and is used as a crown molding
around the room on the walls from the ceiling to the top of the blackboards.
The second, newer room has also been fully restored as a schoolroom and is currently being used as a museum. The rectangular room features a half chimney, partial original oak floors, and original blackboards which are set lower for smaller children.
This building, at least among schoolhouses from the time period (1880s), is architecturally unique in two ways. One feature that sets this structure apart from most rural schoolhouses of the day is the building's design. Chana School started off as a simple, run-of-the-mill, one-room schoolhouse. Ten years later, however, an addition to the building attached a second, smaller classroom, perpendicular
to the original. The bell tower was then constructed to connect the two rooms. The result was a unique layout resembling an "L
" with its corner shaved off. Inside the building is another unique feature for schoolhouses of the time—the coat rooms are surrounded by two semi-circular front walls in the original wing of the building.
s, located to the rear of the school building. Both are non-functional, display models. One outhouse is an original 1870s structure, transported to the site and reassembled. The other outhouse is a copy, built from salvaged materials during the school restoration. Neither outhouse is historically associated with Chana School and both are considered non-contributing factors in the schoolhouse's National Register of Historic Places
listing.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in the Ogle County, Illinois
Ogle County, Illinois
Ogle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,497, which is an increase of 4.8% from 51,032 in 2000. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle...
, in the county seat of Oregon, Illinois
Oregon, Illinois
Oregon is a city located in Ogle County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 3,721, down from 4,060 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ogle County.- History :...
. One of six Oregon sites listed on the Register, the school is an oddly shaped, two-room schoolhouse which has been moved from its original location. Chana School joined the Register in 2005 as an education museum.
The schoolhouse was built in 1883, in the village of Chana, Illinois
Chana, Illinois
Chana is an unincorporated community in Ogle County, Illinois, and is located southeast of Oregon.- Demographics :- External links :*...
. Due to the elimination of the Chana School District, the school was abandoned by the 1960s. A restoration
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
effort was undertaken in the late 1990s, ending with a move and refurbishment
Renovation
Renovation is the process of improving a structure. Two prominent types of renovations are commercial and residential.-Process:The process of a renovation, however complex, can usually be broken down into several processes...
in 2002 and 2003. The building now stands in a public park along the Rock River
Rock River (Illinois)
The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Illinois. It rises in southeast Wisconsin, in the Theresa Marsh near Theresa, Wisconsin in northeast Dodge County, Wisconsin approximately south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin...
in Oregon, Illinois
Oregon, Illinois
Oregon is a city located in Ogle County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 3,721, down from 4,060 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ogle County.- History :...
. Its interior also features architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
elements which set it apart from the typical 19th-century schoolhouse. From a distance, the building is dominated by its bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
.
History
One-room school
One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...
built in the area. One of the two classrooms was used by students in lower grades, the other by older students, up to eighth grade. Through the late early 1950s, one classroom was still used and the additional space used for storage.
Early years
The village of ChanaChana, Illinois
Chana is an unincorporated community in Ogle County, Illinois, and is located southeast of Oregon.- Demographics :- External links :*...
was founded in 1871, half a mile northwest of White Oak School, which was built in 1869. Chana's early settlers sent their children to White Oak School up to eighth grade, but White Oak was abandoned in 1883 when Chana School was built in a park in Chana. The White Oak building was used as a storage barn for hay until a fire destroyed it in 1886. In 1893, a second classroom was added to the existing structure of Chana School.
Chana's first teacher was D.C. Sears, an Oregon, Illinois resident. The late 19th century saw at least ten individuals teach at Chana School at different times. By 1888, Pine Rock Township
Pine Rock Township, Ogle County, Illinois
Pine Rock Township is located in Ogle County, Illinois. The population was 979 at the 2000 census.- External links :****...
was ready to address the question of whether or not to build a high school; Chana students attended high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Oregon. The question was brought to a vote but failed and Chana students continued to go to Oregon schools after eighth grade.
After closing
After the school closed in 1953, the larger, original room was converted into a bus garageBus garage
A bus garage or bus depot is a building where buses are stored and maintained. In many conurbations, bus garages are on the site of former car barns or tram sheds, where Streetcars or Trams were stored, and the operation transferred to buses...
by the Chana School District. A large garage door was cut into the building and the floor completely removed. The smaller, 1893 room became a storage area. In 1962, the Chana School District ran out of room and used the building as an overflow classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
. By the mid-1960s, the Chana District folded and was absorbed by the Oregon School District. Residents were allowed to remove any items from the school after the district shut down.
Restoration
In 1997, the property was sold and the Chana School was nearly demolished. Citizens formed the Chana School Foundation to save the building. It was relocated to City Park East in Oregon, Illinois and volunteers began the process of refurbishing the building in August 1998. Five years later, in September 2003, the school had its grand opening. Since then, it has operated as a museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
to help illustrate 1880s education in the United States.
The moving and restoration of the Chana School was facilitated, in part, by a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
15,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is a cabinet-level department of the state government of Illinois. It is headquartered in the state capital of Springfield...
. The grant was intended to help restore the building to its original state, restore a sand hill prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
on the site, develop museum exhibit space, and establish learning links to other museums in support of "the rural education focus" as part of the curriculum.
Architecture
Chana School is, on one hand, typical of rural schoolhouses, with a gableGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof and trademark bell tower. On the other hand, the building is unique among 19th-century schoolhouses. It does have some stylistic elements, mostly of the Italianate style. Examples include pedimented window crows and pronounced hoods over the belfry openings. However, Chana School's architectural difference lies in its design and, thus, its floor plan.
Exterior
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, which faces southwest today, is adorned with three doorways—left, right, and center— which span a front porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
beneath the bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
. When the school was open, the use of the doors was restricted. The left and right doors were used by boys in first through eighth grades while the middle door was earmarked as an entry for girls of all ages. Each of the doors feature transoms
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
topped with cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
s.
The bell tower rises 43 feet (13.1 m), and halfway up its length is a large round sign. The sign denotes the school district, Pine Rock, and the year of the school's foundation. Originally, the sign graced the front exterior wall of the larger of the two rooms. The tower rises above the roof
Roof
A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous....
by about fifteen feet and at its top are four arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es, one on each side. Wooden construction is found throughout the tower, its arches, and the rest of the schoolhouse, save the limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
foundation. At the bottom of each of the four arches are balustrades
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
decorated with spindles
Spindle (furniture)
A Spindle, in furniture, is an cylindrically symmetric shaft, usually made of wood. A spindle is usually made of a single piece of wood and typically has decoration fashioned by hand or with a lathe...
. Inside the tower is the school bell. The bell house is topped with a multi-gabled roof. The roof of the overall schoolhouse is covered with cedar
Cedar wood
Cedar wood comes from several different trees that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.* California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens, is the primary type of wood used for making pencils...
shingles
Wood shingle
Wood shingles are roof shingles made of cut wood, used for roofing material. Such roofing material made from split wood is referred to as "shakes"....
and features chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
s rising from each of the classrooms.
The building's southern facade, that of the original 1883 room, features three windows. The same room has two rear windows of the same style. The windows are all double hung and of four-over-four design.
Interior
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
wood floor, original closet
Closet
A closet is a small and enclosed space, a cabinet, or a cupboard in a house or building used for general storage or hanging clothes. A closet for food storage is usually referred to as a pantry...
, built-in water stand
Sink
A sink is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture used for washing hands, for dishwashing or other purposes. Sinks generally have taps that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing...
, and pressed tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
on the ceiling are among the original features found in this portion of the building. The interior of the bell tower is adorned with shelving, coat hooks, and two exits; one into the smaller classroom and the other, between the semi-circular walls, to the coat room. The bell rope hangs 14.5 feet (4.4 m) from the ceiling.
The interior of the 1883 room has been restored to its original appearance. The red oak floor is trimmed by nine inches of mop board and quarter-round, decoratively accented. The two curved and semi-circular front walls mark the two coat rooms in the original, one-room building. The rounded walls hold a chair rail and are wainscoted below the blackboards
Chalkboard
A chalkboard or blackboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate, known, when used for this purpose, as chalk. Chalkboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or dark grey slate stone...
. Blackboards cover available space on the north, east, and south walls. Pressed tin extends over the ceiling and is used as a crown molding
Crown molding
Crown molding encapsulates a large family of moldings which are designed to gracefully flare out to a finished top edge. Crown molding is generally used for capping walls, pilasters, and cabinets, and is used extensively in the creation of interior and exterior cornice assemblies and door and...
around the room on the walls from the ceiling to the top of the blackboards.
The second, newer room has also been fully restored as a schoolroom and is currently being used as a museum. The rectangular room features a half chimney, partial original oak floors, and original blackboards which are set lower for smaller children.
Unique features
Perpendicular
In geometry, two lines or planes are considered perpendicular to each other if they form congruent adjacent angles . The term may be used as a noun or adjective...
to the original. The bell tower was then constructed to connect the two rooms. The result was a unique layout resembling an "L
L
Ł or ł, described in English as L with stroke, is a letter of the Polish, Kashubian, Sorbian, Łacinka , Łatynka , Wilamowicean, Navajo, Dene Suline, Inupiaq, Zuni, Hupa, and Dogrib alphabets, several proposed alphabets for the Venetian language, and the ISO 11940 romanization of the Thai alphabet...
" with its corner shaved off. Inside the building is another unique feature for schoolhouses of the time—the coat rooms are surrounded by two semi-circular front walls in the original wing of the building.
Outbuildings
The only other buildings on the site are two outhouseOuthouse
An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...
s, located to the rear of the school building. Both are non-functional, display models. One outhouse is an original 1870s structure, transported to the site and reassembled. The other outhouse is a copy, built from salvaged materials during the school restoration. Neither outhouse is historically associated with Chana School and both are considered non-contributing factors in the schoolhouse's National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
listing.
Significance
Chana School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 2005. On its original nomination form to the National Register, Chana School was cited as being significant for inclusion in the Register under criteria C, which states a property: "embod(ies) the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction." In addition, the school was subject to considerations by the Register which allowed its inclusion despite the general policy which does not encourage the nomination of properties that have been moved from their original location.External links
- Oregon, Illinois: Chana School - information on tours