School Days

It's hard to believe that school will soon be back in session for students throughout the region. Parents will be shopping for notebooks, pencils and new school clothes in preparation for another school year.

Have you ever wondered how our classrooms of today differ from those of 100 years ago? If so, we hope you'll take time to visit our District 16 School! Have a seat in desks, complete with ink wells, just as students did in their new school building in 1898.  Discover how the lives of today’s students and teachers differ from those of children years ago.  And, maybe you’ll learn of some aspects of one-room schools that still continue today.

The school that we call District 16 was originally called District #3, or Maple Grove School, in Chesterfield Township of Fulton County, Ohio.  The Maple Grove School was actually moved to Sauder Village from an area near the Ohio-Michigan border, north of the town of Wauseon.  It was used from 1898 to 1916. The first four buildings built in the Maple Grove District were log buildings much like the Log Schoolhouse in the Historic Village.  Our “District 16” schoolhouse was the seventh building built in that district.  After being used for 18 years, a new centralized school was built in 1916, and the time of one-room schoolhouses in Fulton County came to an end.

Interesting Facts About our Schools at Sauder Village (Log School and District 16 School):
In the 1830s, children attended school for short periods of time, sometimes for as little as 3 months during the winter!

In schools like our Log Schoolhouse, greased or oiled paper was often used over window openings due to the great expense of glass panes

One-room schools housed all the children in a district, often ranging from 6 to 20 years of age!

Our District 16 School was built in 1898 at a cost of $687.00.

Before being located by Erie Sauder, and restored at the Historic Village, the District 16 building was being used as a granary.

You will find 2 entry doors on the front of the District 16 School. It was specifically designed that way, with one entry for the girls to use, and one for the boys.