The final chapter for Illinois’ last operating one-room schoolhouse, the McAuley School, is finally being written, and it’s not ending with a wrecking ball. Per The Chicago Tribune, the long-neglected red-frame building in West Chicago, located at 1820 W. Roosevelt Road, is undergoing a $1.6 million restoration. To fit into the modern era, it is being transformed into a functional space for the West Chicago Elementary School District 33.
The schoolhouse has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. According to the Tribune, it officially shut its doors back in 1991, largely because industrial development and major expansion at the nearby airport wiped out the student population in the surrounding area. Before it closed, McAuley held the title of the final operating one-room schoolhouse in the entire state of Illinois.
