Local historic schoolhouse now offers tours, activities
The 1901-built Bohannon Schoolhouse was moved to Mount Pleasant in 1970 and is now offering monthly tours for the first time.
The schoolhouse, originally located in Jasper Township, is located in southwest campus at the corner of Preston Street and West Campus Drive. It was dedicated as the Gerald L. Poor museum.
Visits are free of charge, with suggested donations under $5. The schoolhouse is open from 9 a.m. to noon on the second Saturday of each month, with upcoming dates on Sept. 10 and Oct. 8.
Aside from tours, the schoolhouse also offers classroom activities, such as recess games, a spelling bee, a lesson and culture. Hands-on activities such as pottery, civil war camps, puppet shows and an archaeology cookie excavation are also offered.
Though this is the first year these tours have been available, Jay Martin, director of cultural and natural history, said he was pleased by the success of the tours during the summer, which began May 14.
Troy senior Kellie DeSchutter, who conducts many tours, recommends the experience for those studying education.
"Teachers want students to see how school was a long time ago," she said. "It's a fun trip for students to see how school was run in the early 1900s compared to now."
All schoolhouse activities are run by students in the Museum Studies or associated programs.
Martin said as well as being educational, the tours give the public a chance to see the hard work of CMU students.
