Welcome back to Linn School: Marion County icon opens for 2022 season

Brandi Wilson couldn't help but smile as she greeted visitors to a fully restored Linn School.

Wilson, executive director of the Marion County Historical Society, was joined by members of the society's board of directors and ambassadors from the Marion Area Chamber of Commerce for the long-awaited grand reopening ceremony on Thursday.

"I'm pleased and excited to be able to have Linn School reopen and share it with the community and also show off our new kiosk," Wilson said. "(The kiosk) has information about Linn School, upcoming events for the historical society. We're going to do some additional artwork on the other side of the kiosk (facing Ohio 4) that shows kind of the history of the kids who went to school here with some photo images from the past.

"And we have a new stone walkway up to the front door of the school building, which is just beautiful. It just ties it together nicely and adds to the beauty of the space."

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The joy expressed on Thursday was in stark contrast to the shock and disbelief supporters of the historical society experienced nearly three years ago when the last remaining one-room schoolhouse in Marion County was nearly destroyed. Early on the morning of July 30, 2019, a tractor trailer slammed into the southeast corner of the red brick building and was left wedged inside for much of the day before being extracted that evening. Fortunately, the driver did not suffer serious injuries in the crash.

However, the school building needed major reconstruction, which, fortunately, Quality Masonry Co. of Marion was able to complete in 2020. Quality Masonry also conducted the original restoration project in 2003 that resurrected the iconic structure and allowed it to become one of the county's treasured landmarks, both for local school children and tourists.

Brothers Merle and Oliver Hamilton purchased Linn School in 2002 and donated it to the historical society. They also donated $100,000 to fund the 2003 restoration project. Merle and Peg Hamilton then set up a trust that provides $2,500 annually to cover the cost of maintenance and operations as well as the cost of transporting local school children to the school.

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Oliver Hamilton was a student at Linn School from 1909 to 1914. Merle Hamilton attended the school from 1913 to 1920.

"To have this in Marion and to be able to show the authenticity of going to a one-room schoolhouse is just wonderful," Wilson said. "You drive through our community and other communities and you can see these schoolhouses and some of them have been turned into homes or buildings for farm implements, so it's nice to see one that represents what it was originally used for and to be able to showcase that."

On Thursday prior to the grand reopening ceremony, school children once again enjoyed a program at Linn School, Wilson said.

"We had two buses of kids here," Wilson said with a broad smile. "It's a lot of fun. We had (volunteer) Jan Augenstein who portrays a schoolmarm, so she was out here today. We had school tours last week and Fred Malone portrayed a headmaster, who's a little stricter than the schoolmarm. So we've been open and the schools are enjoying it again and we couldn't ask for more."

Both Augenstein and Carol Robinson, another volunteer who conducts programming at Linn School, attended the ceremony on Thursday.

"Merle and Oliver gave us such a gift when they gave us this," said Augenstein, who's been conducting programs at Linn School since 2004. "They bought the land and they re-did the schoolhouse. They would never tell us how much money they spent. We know it was over $100,000. To teach these kids what it was like in a one-room school, it's priceless. It really is. The kids really enjoy it."

Robinson said it was a "wonderful" feeling to have Linn School back in operation and open to the public.

"It's a historic place, to be sure, and we don't have too many of them," Robinson said. "You look around Ohio and it used to be dotted with these kinds of buildings, but there aren't too many now. Just to have much of the original things still in use is wonderful. Now some of the desks had to be replaced after the accident. They had to go out of state to get some them because they're hard to find. But it gives us a chance to give our kids and others who come here a look back at how school used to be and that's nice."

Wilson said future plans include relocating a log home the historical society owns to the Linn School property, which she said will provide more space for educational programs and other events. The historical society also plans to develop the rest of the property behind the school, she said.

A future event immediately on the horizon for the historical society is the opening of three new collections at Heritage Hall, 169 E. Church St. in Marion. Wilson said on Thursday, June 2, a ribbon cutting-ceremony will be conducted to celebrate The Honorable Mary Ellen Withrow Collection, the Woodland Elves Collection, and the Buckeye Telephone Collection. She said the ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on June 2.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Welcome back to Linn School: Marion County icon opens for 2022 season