Mark Prairie Historical Society

Join Us for our Giant Yard Sale July 9th & 10th

What happens when you can’t bring the logs to the mill? You bring the mill to the logs!

The weight of the downed logs from the recent devastating ice storm, made getting a truck in to haul them to a mill whole, prohibitive, both in size and cost. So, after researching all the options to use the oak onsite, it was determined that bringing in a portable sawmill was probably the best option.

Special thanks to Grant and Dale Robinson of Cedar Creek Farm & Timber LLC! They came by the schoolhouse today with their portable sawmill and spent five hours milling and stacking all the useable trees. They were even able to haul away a big truckload of huge log chunks for firewood.

Some of the milled wood will eventually be used in the restoration of the schoolhouse! Can you say new countertop for the serving area? Stay tuned and follow the restoration progress here and/or on our Facebook page. We’ve only just begun 😊

Photos courtesy of Peggy Sigler

We are very pleased to announce that Mark Prairie Historical Society has been awarded a Micro Grant from the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition in the amount of $750.

The Mark Prairie schoolhouse was severely damaged by a recent ice storm that hit the Canby area, and the Micro Grant funds will be used towards its repair.

We are very grateful to the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition for this generous award and we are excited to begin the process of rebuilding.

“Funding for this project is provided in part by the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition, a program managed by the Clackamas County Arts Alliance.”

The MPHS board is assembling an awesome team to repair/restore the schoolhouse and we will be updating the progress here, as well as on our Facebook page. Please join us on our journey and watch for all our exciting updates.

A crew will be out to the schoolhouse next week to brace the building. Thankfully, it is still standing after the strong winds last night in the Canby area. Once it is safe to go back inside, more of the contents can be removed and put in storage. Some items were damaged beyond repair, but we are so happy that the vintage advertising banner seems to be ok and has been safely removed from the building.

You can donate to the Rebuild the Schoolhouse fund below. No amount is too small. Thank you for supporting The Mark Prairie Historical Society.

More ceiling has fallen between Friday morning and this morning. The chunk of tree that was wedged above the piano has fallen to the floor.

Please consider making a tax deductable donation to help us restore our beloved schoolhouse. Thank you for your generosity!

The tree company came today and removed the trees from the roof. Here are a few pictures and a short video of what we are now dealing with. The roofer will be out soon to put a tarp over the building and the insurance adjuster will be here on Friday to assess the damage. More updates to follow!

MPHS President Judi Aus, paid a visit to the schoolhouse today to take a look at the damage and possibly remove any items inside that could be in danger. Here are a few pictures she took as well as a short video showing some of the damage, inside and out.