Projects

Continuing Restoration at Historic North Grove School

If you have not visited the Funding portion/tab of the website, I encourage you to do so. You will gain an appreciation for our School Bell Fundraising campaign.

The Projects tab was added to the website when the Board of Directors was called to the schoolhouse to see a “problem.” Problem? Yikes. Our contractor, who was hired to replace the door on the south side of the build-ing, discovered the floor in the schoolhouse was not level and that it was possible there were significant problems in the foundations of the schoolhouse. Significant problems were found with the joists (wood rot) and the footings were no longer adequate.

The Board took a daring step, spend the money to preserve the darling gem of North Grove School for children now and for children yet to come. Many of you agreed, and we thank you for your generous support now and in the future,

Here’s the great news, the repairs have been made. The schoolhouse has been restored.

There’s still more to do. The next project is to restore the vestibule (cloakroom, back in the day). The wainscoting has been damaged by water and must be restored. The vestibule windows need some repairs, as well. Please see the pictures and explanations below.

Thank you, again, for your financial support.

Donate to Restoration

If you want to donate to our restoration efforts (and we thank you for doing so), you may send a check to:
NGSA, PO Box 244
Sycamore, IL 60178
or donate via PayPal to northgroveschool.org.

North Grove School Association is a qualified tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. EIN: 36- 3679500

Exterior of building showing crawl space

The crawl space vents were the last planned item for exterior repairs. They were completed and installed last summer, 2025. They are great looking and doing their intended job — keeping “critters” outside the schoolhouse and not under it.

The repair to the south side door was paused when our contractor discovered that the entire school floor was not level. The footings for the joists were failing! Surprise! This unplanned work has been completed. The joists are repaired (or replaced) and there are adjustable jacks, on secure footings, installed to keep the schoolhouse “on the level” for years to come.

In this first phase of interior work, we set our goal to make the south door operable. The old hardware has been removed, but it’s important to notice the light at the bottom of door. It had rotted away, and so did the door’s threshold! Surprise! There were other repairs to be made under the schoolhouse!

The threshold is repaired, as are the joists below the schoolhouse. It’s now a lovely, operational door!

The South side wainscoting under the classroom windows was milled to match the original. It’s beautiful and eye-catching.

The next project is to restore the vestibule (“cloakroom” when the schoolhouse was built). The wainscoting needs attention, as does the junction where the vestibule meets the classroom.