All Things Old Are New Again

Exline School class picture in 1912

Exline Schoolhouse class picture in 2012

In the early 1950's Clarence and Dolores Turrell bought the Exline Schoolhouse.  Small schoolhouses were being absorbed into larger, community schools.  The Exline school children began going to Momence schools and the school house was empty.  The schoolhouses were being sold and converted into homes. So, Clarence and Dolores did just that.  They put up walls, a bathroom, and a kitchen and lived contently in their new home, but as their family grew so did their need for more space.  So in a one weekend "barn-raising" event, they put up a second story with bedrooms and another bathroom.  They later added an extra first floor room.  The Clarence and Dolores family of 8 lived in the house for a few more years before moving down the road to a farm.  Within 6 years the house became a Turrell residence once again when Douglas and Debra Turrell moved in soon after their wedding.  40 years and many renovations later, the house is a large, warm, and inviting home and school.  This time the school building is not visible but learning still happens in the form of homeschooling.  The whole house is utilized for school and has been for 14 years.  So the Exline Schoolhouse educated children at the turn of 20th century and then again at the turn of the 21st and beyond.  All things old are new again.