Living History...

Columbia, Illinois Field Trip
​Still going strong after 15 years, the Sand Bank Society of Columbia, IL, curators of the Sand Bank School are proud of their preservation work. The society hosts education programs, lets not for profits use the school free, and rents it out for small parties and weddings.

This CSAA member school has a history dating back to 1816 and possibly earlier. In 1903, a Waterloo Times news clipping stated that a new frame Sand Bank School was being erected in 1902, and the old Log School on the property was sold to a Mr. Phelps, who moved it ...a sad ending to the oldest standing log school building in Monroe County. Around 1910, when Illinois law required cloak room for boys and girls, a new front was built onto the 1903 frame schoolhouse, giving it the look seen today. 

The Sand Bank School was restored in 2009, and the Sand Bank Society was formed in 2010 to help with school maintenance and to promote the use of the restored school for educational purposes and social events.

Each spring third graders from Columbia study the book, Little House on the Prairie and spend a day at a Sand Bank School. Here they learn about the hardships of pioneer children endured to get an education, eating sack lunches, and enjoying games of the early 1900s. 

Recognized by the Country School Association of America on the CSAA Landmark School Registry, Sand Bank School's listing and their marker not only serves to identify this school building as one of historical and/or architectural significance, but also recognizes preservation achievements and the continuing care of their schoolhouse.

CSAA thanks Dennis Patton for this submission...

FACEBOOK - SAND BANK SCHOOL