Forest Grove School Preservation
Reopening is Saturday, May 22
BETTENDORF, Iowa (KWQC) -The Forest Grove Schoolhouse was erected after Pleasant Valley subdistrict No. 5 formed in 1873. It was one of five schools in Pleasant Valley Township at the time. The school closed in 1957.
The property was more recently acquired by Forest Grove School Preservation, a group that worked diligently for seven years to restore the building to its 1920 appearance at a cost of $250,000. Their plans (and hard work) have come to fruition---with the reopening of the schoolhouse as a museum for kids of all ages to learn about rural education later this month on May 22, 2021.
Sharon Andresen, project coordinator for the Forest Grove School No. 5 Rehabilitation Project, and Kelly Rundle of Moline’s Fourth Wall Films joined PSL to inform viewers about the project and a short documentary about the school titled, Remembering Forest Grove.
A clip of the film is shared during the segment. Andresen said the wonderful movie will be the highlight of a museum visit in a kiosk area. This documentary cinematically tells the dramatic true story behind the seemingly-impossible task of restoring a crumbling 1873 one-room school to its 1920s appearance. Footage and interviews gathered over a seven-year period will illustrate the problems they faced and the solutions they employed as they attempted to bring this rural icon back to life.
The reopening of the Forest Grove Schoolhouse museum (24040 Forest Grove Drive, Bettendorf) is May 22, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The plan moving forward is that the museum will be open on Saturday mornings but will likely expand with additional hours during the summer as more volunteer docents are trained to welcome visitors.
Forest Grove School Preservation / PO Box: 603 / Bettendorf, IA 52722 / Phone: (563) 349 7805 / FACEBOOK
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