Hometown Monday - Old Carrollton School in final days

Hometown Monday

Old Carrollton School in final days

 

From: Coon Rapids Enterprise, Thursday, November 14, 2013. Front Page Story:

Sometime next summer the 1937 Carrollton School House will disappear from the rural landscape, following action by the Carrollton Community Heritage Club at their October 28 meeting. After nearly a decade of effort trying to save the building, the group dedicated to preserve the memories of the Carrollton Community have realized the task is too large and
expensive to achieve.

“Our intentions were to refurbish the building, maybe put an apartment in there, maybe a
community center,” said Rosemary Paulsen, one of the members of the CCHC.

The group even spent money in 2006 to have asbestos removed from the building in hopes that a renovation could eventually take place.

“We had all kinds of plans, of course, but we had no real money and the building continued
to deteriorate,” Paulsen added. “I hate it. It’s really sad. It’s the last standing public building in Carrollton. It would have been nice to save it,” Paulsen said.

The final straw, Paulsen said, was a report from Sebern Structural Services of Panora, who
was commissioned to document the deterioration and provide necessary costs to rehabilitate.
From there, the group solicited bids for demolition and the one from Mike Daniels was accepted.
Paulsen said he’ll fit the job into his schedule and will have it down by next summer.

Carrollton, the first county seat in Carroll County, had a school as early as 1856. In 1909 a consolidated school in Carrollton was built and in 1936 it burned down. It was replaced with this all-brick building and for many years it had 10 grades, although in the last years it was limited to eight grades. It closed in 1959.

Paulsen said that now plans for the demolition have been made, new ideas for the school property can begin in earnest. Not surprisingly, several have already been made, such as making an historical interpretative park or maybe shelterhouse. Many other ideas will circulate when the large group of Carrollton enthusiasts gather for the ‘Old Settlers’
Picnic’ on August 16 of next year.

In the meantime, Carrollton Community Heritage Club members can continue to enjoy
the Old Carrollton Park which it has developed on property which once was home to the
community’s first grocery store.


Families are Forever! ;-)