Construction Has Begun!

Well, it has been a very long wait, but construction has finally begun on the schoolhouse!

A special shout out to Emerick Construction, Froelich Engineers, ORANGEWALLstudios and Whiskey Hill Home Remodeling for helping move this massive project forward!

Stay tuned! More exciting developments to come!

Tarp and temporary structure being removed.

Quilt Winner Announced!

Nora Clark, winner of the quilt Raffle with MPHS President Judi Aus.

Congratulations to the Winner of the “Sun Bonnet Sue” quilt Raffle, Nora Clark of Canby Oregon. Nora is President of the Canby Historical Society and is pictured with Judi Wolfer AUS, President of the Mark Prairie Historical Society. The quilt was quilted by a Portland resident who donated it to Mark Prairie as a fundraiser to help raise funds for restoration of the Mark Prairie school which was severely damaged during the 2021 ice storm.

Progress in the Vestibule

A special shoutout and a HUGE thank you to Tim Lapp of Whiskey Hill Home Remodeling in Aurora, Oregon.

Tim was busy working on the schoolhouse vestibule this morning. He was able to patch some of the damage on the walls and fit trim where the vestibule meets the school. He also topped the cabinet with some trim and replicated the simple pediment of the front door over both windows. Now it’s all ready for a cleanup and paint!

Great job Tim!

Progress at the Schoolhouse!

Wow! We have some progress at Mark Prairie Schoolhouse!

A special shout out to A1 Paint Removal, Painting & Restoration for coming in and removing the paint on 3 interior walls of the schoolhouse. They did an amazing job and got the project done quickly and efficiently! We are very pleased 🙂.

Thank you so very much!

The crew of A1 getting ready to do their magic!
Day 1 of stripping.
Day one progress!
WOW! It looks AMAZING! Thank you A1!

Schoolhouse Desk Progress

Take a look at the progress on our desks!!

Dale Williamson and his friend Jerry, residents of Hope Village – a senior living community in Canby, have nearly completed the desks found in the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse.

Using the Hope Village woodworking shop they were able to refurbish and put the desks back together. According to President Judi Aus, they are nearly complete!

Thank you Dale and Jerry for all your hard work! They will look amazing in the schoolhouse 😍

And…We Have a Desk!

The One Original Desktop Found in the Schoolhouse

A big heartfelt thank you to Dale Williamson and his friend Jerry, residents of Hope Village – a senior living community in Canby. Using the Hope Village woodworking shop they were able to refurbish and put back together the one complete desk that was found in the schoolhouse. According to President Judi Aus, the desk is nearly complete!

Also found in the schoolhouse were backs and seats for 5 more desks. Dale and Jerry will be refurbishing those as well. Once they are done, using the one found desktop as a pattern, Eric Marriott of Willow Classic Woodworking, will make 5 new desktops to match the original. The desktops will be made out of the milled white oak slabs from the downed trees on the schoolhouse property. This means the schoolhouse will have 6 complete desks!

Who’s ready for class? 😁

Putting the refurbished desks back together
It’s a desk!
Looks great! Thank you Dale & Jerry!

The Building is Wrapped!

update 12/11/2021


It was a busy week at the schoolhouse! The Arciform team was onsite all week. They built a temporary framework around the middle section of the building, all to the height of the school roof. Each day, they vacuumed much of the standing water from the floor. Yesterday, they tarped the whole framework. It appears to be very secure and was minimally moving today during the high winds. Whew!! Photos courtesy of Peggy Sigler

Not as much standing water now!

A Few Exciting Discoveries

In the play/woodshed addition, we discovered “W.B.”
neatly carved in the column in the NW corner
“Harry” signed on a ceiling joist in the play/woodshed addition

The Work Continues

Work has resumed at the Mark Prairie Schoolhouse. Temporary framing for tarps has been installed to protect the building from from further damage.

Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler
Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler
Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler
Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler
Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler
Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler
Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler
Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler
Photo courtesy of Peggy Sigler