March 2009 Issue
Great Western Schoolhouse
Ohio’s portion of the Historic National Road offers eclectic insights into the past.
It’s eastern Ohio to us, but to 19th-century America, it was the West. A reminder of this is the Great Western Schoolhouse on the Ohio University Eastern Campus in Belmont County. The one-room school, built in 1870 with bricks made of clay from a nearby pond, remained in continuous use until 1952.
Restored in 1976, the little red schoolhouse is outfitted with inkwell desks, McGuffey Readers and a potbelly stove. This National Register of Historic Places site does not keep regular hours, but is open whenever the flag is up. Otherwise, call ahead to arrange a visit.
Great Western Schoolhouse, Ohio University Eastern Campus, 45425 National Rd. W., St. Clairsville, 740/695-1720
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