NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — School is out for summer but in North Ridgeville students and adults of all ages can step back into a classroom and take a step back into history.
The North Ridgeville Historical Society is once again opening up its one-room schoolhouse tours this summer.
This Sunday, the schoolhouse will be open from 2 to 5 p.m. Entry is free but donations to the historical society are encouraged.
Jeff Sigsworth is the president of the city’s historical society. He said the building is jam-packed with artifacts from the time period in which the school was operating, which was 1859 to 1924.
“When we first opened in 2001, we had a few people who were in their 80s or 90s who had actually gone to school here before 1924. One woman was 101 years old, the last time she came, and she walked through the steps, came here and sat down and said ‘yeah, it looks the same,’” he said.
There are old-school desks, authentic textbooks, the original blackboard, and memorabilia scattered throughout.
The tour even comes with an authentic schoolmarm acted out by Julie Bajda, who teaches an actual lesson.
“I was a teacher for 50 years, total, in North Ridgeville City Schools. 35 years as a full-time teacher and 15 years of subbing,” she said. “Seeing my former students come in and bringing their families is so nice and it’s exciting to share about the schoolhouse and how lessons have changed and evolved.”
And while these tours have been open every last Sunday of each month from May to Oct., Sigsworth said this summer they’re really depending on people coming to the school and the fire museum at 36119 Center Ridge Road.
“We’ve been in the old town hall with our main museum and just recently the city closed it up to the public because they’re doing electrical renovations there so the public aren’t allowed in,” he said.
If you can’t make this Sunday’s tour, the next one is July 30. Find more info here.
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