The 1872 Sholes School was built in Burlington on the farm of David Sholes. It was one of the last one-room schoolhouses closed in 1947. The school sat vacant for 30 years before it was rescued by a group of concerned citizens who formed the Pioneer Sholes School Society in the late 1970s.
The Forest Preserve District of Kane County agreed to become the school's permanent home and in 1979 it was moved to LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve near the 1843 Durant-Peterson House. The Society, led by Faye Stone, Lou Schairer, Art and Hazel Clauter, and others raised money--including $5,000 from the Forest Preserve District of Kane County--and restored the school. Through 2018, the Society hosted open days for the public and field trips for area students, often coordinating with Preservation Partners at the Durant-Peterson House.
The Society's membership dwindled in the late 2010s and they decided to turn over operations to Preservation Partners, an agreement endorsed by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. Now, under the operation of one organization, the two museums, only a few hundred feet apart, have the same open hours and offer seamless experiences for guests.
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SOURCE: "A New Era for Pioneer Sholes School," Advocate (Winter 2018): 1