SOME CRESWELL HERITAGE FOUNDATION SUPPORTERS. STANDING, FROM LEFT, ARE DIANA SHUMATE, SHERRY SMITH, PAMELA PALMER, CHF BOARD MEMBER CHERI SPAULDING, MARY SEALS, CHF BOARD MEMBER MARY ANN HOWARD, HANNA KNOPP, CHF BOARD MEMBER VERLEAN MCCOY AND GARY MOUNCE. SITTING, FROM LEFT, ARE LAUREL HENRY, CHF BOARD MEMBER PATTY BIRCH, MARIA BEST AND HOLLY CAMPBELL. NOT PICTURED ARE HELEN HOLLYER, SUSAN BENNETT, KEN PARRAMORE AND ZOE WEST. ERIN TIERNEY/THE CRESWELL CHRONICLE
One of the first bylines by this reporter in The Chronicle was a story about the Old Schoolhouse back in October 2016. At that time, council was working to decide whether to sell, demolish or surplus the building.
The history of this little building runs deep, but so did the cost of repairs.
The building, located at 192 S. Second St., is the oldest public building in town and was built by Creswell residents in 1875. It is the only Creswell building on the National Register of Historic Places.
But council said the city didn’t have pockets that deep, nor enough staffing to do the job. The initial cost of repairs to get the Old Schoolhouse up to snuff initially clocked in at about $250,000.
Council said it was more a community concern than a city concern. So in November 2016, about a dozen concerned community members and an associate from Restore Oregon heeded the call and showed up to a city council meeting.
“If councilors don’t have the time, if staff doesn’t have the time, let’s see what the public can do,” said resident Verlean McCoy at that meeting in 2016.
Council ultimately voted to turn the responsibility of the Old Schoolhouse over to the community, with a August 2017 deadline to formulate a solution.
Formulate they did. And what did the public do?
Well, they’ve done quite a bit.
Soon after, the nonprofit Creswell Heritage Foundation (CHF) was born. Because the Old Schoolhouse is not safe to occupy, they are working towards restoring it, likely to the appearance and usefulness of its early years as a clubhouse from 1927 until 1957.
The efforts and achievements of this all-volunteer organization have been nothing short of extraordinary, McCoy noted, stating that everyone has their own reasons, their own attachments to the building.
Since their inception, CHF has solicited successful grants and strategized local fundraising efforts to engage the community, garner support, generate revenue and carve out a five-year plan for the building restoration.
“The individual board members have their own reasons for working on this and their own founts of inspiration — a personal attachment to the building’s past; an appreciation for its historic role and the need to preserve it for the future; the satisfaction of being part of something and having an impact,” McCoy said. “As a group, we draw on each other’s strengths and passion.”
McCoy said that CHF is especially bolstered by the community support.
“Community members have contributed cash, yard-sale items, manual labor for the stabilization work we’ve done, letters of support for grants and helped spread the word,” McCoy said, now CHF president. “Creswell First! provided a much-needed bridge to our non-profit transition and our local press has publicized and supported our efforts.”
Funding from grants and individuals also allowed CHF to hire Preservation Architect Susan Licht to evaluate the structural needs of the Old Schoolhouse in a Condition Assessment and Stabilization Plan, which is being used to prioritize future funding requests and rehabilitation efforts. Much of the original structural materials are in good shape and will be retained in the restoration.
Because of the hustle of the nonprofit, and because of the generosity of the community, CHF came back to council to report on their efforts and had good news to share.
On March 15, 2018, the City of Creswell officially transferred ownership of the Old Schoolhouse to the Creswell Heritage Foundation — giant “key” and all. And in recognition of the immediate and ongoing financial obligations that such a transfer would impose on the small nonprofit, the city granted CHF $55,000.
The efforts of CHF is becoming more clear to the community.
“The message is resonating more and more as time goes on,” McCoy said. “More people are learning about it. There are skeptics who continue to ‘wait and see’ if it can be done, but as progress is made, some of them become supporters.”
They now have an email list, where they shoot out updates to inquiring minds and supporters, and also have a list of the First 100 Supporters.
To show appreciation for their supporters, CHF invited those supporters to McCoy’s house in October. There, supporters enjoyed catered food, celebrated two years of progress, saw the architect drawings and learned about the work underway at the Old Schoolhouse.
Much has been done, and still much more needs to be accomplished.
The Old Schoolhouse Foundation Repair Phase is underway, and is estimated to cost $95,000 for the foundation replacement, the porch floor and railing replacement only. Funding is currently being sought for that project.
The organization is seeking material and labor donations. In-kind donations, is charitable giving in which, instead of giving money to buy needed goods and services, the goods and services themselves are given.
CHF needs to provide $20,000 of in-kind donations, McCoy said, to match the Preserving Oregon grant they got from the state this summer.
“The grant conditions require that we match the grant one to one,” McCoy said. “We can use our own cash for this, but we want to get as much of it as possible as donations instead of using all our cash. The match can be in the form of cash, materials or services.”
They need a stump ground and removed; a portable job site toilet for three months; temporary fencing of 100 to 200 feet with a gate for three months; the rock foundation to removed and replaced with a bobcat or backhoe; temporary power, with the electrical disconnected and later reconnected; and plumbing, water and sewer disconnected and reconnected.
Other project materials include: concrete, framing lumber, front porch flooring, woodshed flooring and porch railing.
CHF also needs laborers to remove skirting prior to the construction project, remove the bottom three courses of siding prior to construction; construct and place lattice panels for skirting of the front porch; and trench and replace existing water line from meter to the kitchen.
Potential total in-kind donations tally in at around $13,540, which includes the project list and services needed “The grantor wants to know that we have the capacity to match their grant either within our organization or from other public support,” McCoy said. “So, the $13,500 potential in-kind would count toward this, but we’ll need to add to it as well.”
This is the first phase in the overall restoration. The in-kind list will be posted on CHF’s website this week, McCoy said.
Later projects will be replacing or repairing the rest of the exterior in 2020 and then the interior in 2021, McCoy said. There are no detailed plans or cost information for those at this point.
“Community support is what keeps us going,” McCoy said. “The support and encouragement from others, whether in donations and deeds or verbally, is huge in our keeping on keeping on.”
For more information, or to donate, visit creswellheritagefoundation.com. Follow CHF on Facebook@Creswellheritagefoundation.
