Iowa One Room Schools: Usher's Ferry collection, Cedar Rapids, IA

ORIGINS

I grew up in a small Ohio town and I rode the school bus from 1st through 12th grades. My bus ride always included a country road on which every school day we saw a one-room brick school house. (SW corner of Stine Rd and Enon-Xenia Pike). As the years went by I watched this wonderful, familiar friend fall apart. After I married the school really began to deteriorate. Every time we visited the area I would want to take a photo of the school but never did. Finally, when we went specifically for the task, the school was gone. It was a huge loss for me and, since that time, whenever we pass a one-room school it is a joy to stop to take a picture or two. Thus, our collection here and the blog with schools in other states. Jill :oD

Friday, April 9, 2010

Usher's Ferry collection, Cedar Rapids, IA

Usher's Ferry is a historical village/park on the northwest side of Cedar Rapids, IA. They have a collection of several old houses, a church, schools, etc arranged in a little village with a large central park. In the center of the park is a gazebo. The park was under water in the great flood of 2008, and many buildings were severly damaged.

The first school below is the Cherry Valley School, built in 1878 on Cherry Valley Rd, SE of Fairfax in the College Township school district. It was relocated to Usher's Ferry from Fairfax and restored. It was restored again after the flood. This school was photographed on 10/2/04.

The red one is Monroe #6, Pleasant Prairie, originally located on Blairs Ferry Rd. It was converted to a house once it was no longer used as a school. It was then relocated to Usher's Ferry and restored to represent a Grange Hall. It was severely damaged in the flood and not currently restored (considered to be "in mothballs"). This photo was taken on 9/23/06. Destroyed by a derecho on 8/10/20.