MILAN TOWNSHIP ONE ROOM SCHOOL HOUSE

The Milan Township District #83 Schoolhouse served as a center for learning from the turn of the century until 1942. In 1942, it was closed and left to deteriorate. However, the schoolhouse was given a new lease on life when it was donated to the Blackwell History of Education Museum in 1996 and then rebuilt on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.

Since 1999, the Milan Schoolhouse has been available to teachers at elementary and middle schools for re-enactment of a typical day in a one-room schoolhouse, professors at NIU and other institutions, teachers at high schools for classes, other events, and families and organizations for various activities.

We wish to thank Dr. Eui-Kyung Shin, assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, for her guidance of Rebecca Edwards in the development of this curriculum.A Blackwell Museum staff member has created lesson plans for students in 1st through 8th grade that allow them to experience a school day in the early 1900s, depending on the teacher’s preference. The one room school is currently unavailable for visits, but we hope to have it open again in the Spring of 2014.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at blackwell@niu.edu.