Sheldon, Iowa — A Sheldon organization that’s trying to preserve old country schoolhouses has received a grant.
The Sheldon Prairie Arts Historical Park has received a $500 grant from Preservation Iowa, an organization dedicated to preserve, protect, and promote Iowa’s historic resources. Other grants went to a schoolhouse project near Greenfield, and one near Pella.
The grant was given to the Baker Country School project in Sheldon at the Prairie Arts Historical Park. The Historical park next to Shopko in Sheldon is home to four old country schoolhouses.
Baker Country School Restoration Project Chairman Harold Tuttle says this $500 is part of a restoration project to install sheetrock for the stairway and the utility room and purchase a basement door. The cost is $2,400. He says that donors have given the required $500 for this grant’s matching fund. He says $1400 is now required by the grant guideline to finish the project.
If you would like to help, contributions can be sent to Prarie Arts Historical Park, Box 61, Sheldon, Iowa 51201. The Prairie Arts Council is a 501C3 status and all monetary gifts are eligible for tax deduction.
Tuttle says, “It would make my day if we would get the local donors to give us the remaining $1400.”
He says they need to have this portion of the restoration completed by October 6th, when the council will receive the Preservation Iowa Plaque to hang in the Baker School. The Upper Midwest Country School Conference will also be in Sheldon on that date.
Tuttle says they are looking forward to using the building for meetings, Kids Art Club, and so forth.
The Baker school was built in 1936 and was moved to Sheldon from Baker Township in 2015.
If you would like more information you can contact director@preservationiowa.org. For more information on the grants go to www.preservationiowa.org.
You can tour the Prairie Arts Historical Park by calling Karin Vanden Berg at 712-324-9718 or Harold Tuttle at 712-324-4190 or email Tuttle at hptuttle@nethtc.net or prairieartshp@gmail.com.
