The New Akey School Museum Sign
The Sign Reads: With permission from their respective town boards, parents from Buena Vista and Orion townships met in July 1851 and voted to create a new school district. Lemuel Akey, whose farm was near the boundary between the two townships, donated land for a schoolhouse. However, the first schoolhouse was not built until 1869. Meanwhile classes were held in the Akey farmhouse. Akey served on the school board for decades and was eventually honored by having the school named after him. In 1894, the school district voters approved construction of a frame schoolhouse to replace the deteriorating log structure. This is the current Akey School Museum! In 1916 the Akey School was moved across County TB and placed on a basement. A large green colonial furnace was installed in the basement and was operated by electricity from Fred Schuerman’s electric plant on Willow Creek. The Akey School closed in June 1962. The closure was mandated by state laws that compelled the rural schools to consolidate with larger districts.
The Akey School Museum was a Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence project sponsored by Richland County and the Richland County Historical Society. Circuit Court Judge Kent Houck chaired the Bicentennial Committee. In 1975 the County Committee decided that a one-room schoolhouse should be secured and restored as Richland County’s Bicentennial undertaking. A group of volunteers toured the county, looking at one-room schools that were still standing. Many of them had deteriorated to an extent that the cost of restoration would be prohibitive. Then they visited the Akey School, owned by the Della Pauls’ family. The Pauls’ family agreed to donate the Akey School to Richland County if Della Pauls was honored as the benefactor. Consequently, Della Pauls’ portrait is displayed above the black board at the front of the school room. Over several months dozens of volunteers worked to restore the building and to equip it as an operating classroom. Donations came in from many of the 110 one-room schools that once dotted Richland County to provide all the equipment needed for the classroom. The Akey School Museum held a grand opening July 4, 1976
The Akey School Museum was a Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence project sponsored by Richland County and the Richland County Historical Society. Circuit Court Judge Kent Houck chaired the Bicentennial Committee. In 1975 the County Committee decided that a one-room schoolhouse should be secured and restored as Richland County’s Bicentennial undertaking. A group of volunteers toured the county, looking at one-room schools that were still standing. Many of them had deteriorated to an extent that the cost of restoration would be prohibitive. Then they visited the Akey School, owned by the Della Pauls’ family. The Pauls’ family agreed to donate the Akey School to Richland County if Della Pauls was honored as the benefactor. Consequently, Della Pauls’ portrait is displayed above the black board at the front of the school room. Over several months dozens of volunteers worked to restore the building and to equip it as an operating classroom. Donations came in from many of the 110 one-room schools that once dotted Richland County to provide all the equipment needed for the classroom. The Akey School Museum held a grand opening July 4, 1976
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New Easy Access Entry
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Visit the Akey School Museum a fully restored and equipped one-room rural schoolhouse.
Hours of Operation: 1pm - 4pm, Sundays during the summer months of June thru September Directions: 2.5 miles East of Twin Bluffs to get to the AKEY SCHOOL MUSEUM From Madison, take Hwy 14 to Gotham, take Hwy 60 West to County TB, north on County TB to the museum. From Richland Center, take Hwy 14 East to Twin Bluffs Road, then in Twin Bluffs to County TB, then south on County TB to the museum. |
Goals of the Richland County Historical Society
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Updated 10/20/2024 Barbara Cody Webmaster