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Central School
Wille & Thayer Streets, Mount Prospect
(1896)
This one-room school house, the
first public school in Mount Prospect, must be moved by February 2008 or the
Mount Prospect Historical Society will have to return control of the
building to the church that gave it to the historical society for
relocation. The church wants to use the site for a parking lot. Moving costs
have been budgeted at $230,000 and the historical society still lacks
$40,000 in funding. |
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Built in 1896 by William Wille, a local carpenter, the school was the site
of Mount Prospect’s incorporation and in 1930, three years after the
construction of a new school next door; it served as the village’s first
public library. The proposed move would be the school’s second relocation.
It was moved from its original location in 1939, to its current site to be utilized by a church
congregation. Saint John’s Episcopal Church held services in the building
until 1954 when it built a new church. The church used the school house as offices
until its $1 sale to the historical society in 2002. Fundraising has been
slow but steady over the 5 ½ years the historical society has owned the
building. The historical society’s goal is to move the school 6 blocks away,
next door to the Historical Society, to serve as an educational building and
meeting place for the community.
Photos: Mount Prospect Historical Society
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INFORMATION
For more information contact: Gavin Kleespies, Mount Prospect Historical
Society (847) 392-9006 www.yourcentralschool.org. |
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