New Owner Wants New Life For Old One-Room Schoolhouse In Sutter County
SUTTER COUNTY (CBS13) - It was nearly torn down after standing for more than a century, but new efforts are under way to salvage history and save a one-room schoolhouse.
In the middle of vast farmland in west Sutter County, the Slough School stands, but barely.
"If they tear it down these things are gone forever. I think this is the basis of America," retired teacher Nevio Renzullo said Monday.
The longtime local teacher stopped by for a snapshot of 145 years of history.
"Older kids would teach younger kids. That would help teachers. I think that's what made this country great," he said.
If the buyer can just get through escrow then school could be back in session, so to speak. He told CBS13 by phone that he remodeled the nearby house to live there. He just needs to get through a slew of inspections to be able to call the Slough School and the 1.4-acre property it sits on his.
"I'm glad somebody is going to buy and repair it instead of tearing it down," longtime Sutter County Supervisor Larry Munger said.
Munger remembers this school well.
"One of the girls I went with through high school was one of the last people to graduate at that school," he said.
The school was first through eighth grade all in one room with one teacher.
"Sometimes the whole classroom was a family," Munger said.
School doors first opened in 1868 and closed in 1962.
"I think my great-great grandpa was one of the original owners," said Steve Perry with the county assessor's office.
It remained a one-room school for nearly a century. Since then, it stayed vacant and was allowed to deteriorate.
"There's a lot of requirements with building codes and different financial things you have to take care of," Perry said.
The small wooden school is surviving the test of time. Now a guy who used to walk this road daily doesn't want to see it fail.
The current owner says it's not safe enough for us to get inside. That's why the new owner is hoping for the keys soon so he can get to work.
