Clarksburg Township near Shelbyville in Shelby County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Clarksburg School

1892-2018

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 8, 2024

1. Clarksburg School Marker

Inscription.
Education Clarksburg school was constructed in 1892 in what was then Holland Township. It was a one-story, two-room school that was originally called Bethel School. Free education was offered at a time when attendance was not mandatory for all children. Often children had farming responsibilities which kept them from attending school. Eventually, all children were required to go to school through eighth grade. State testing was used to determine graduation. However, some students moved on and finished high school studies in Shelbyville.

The original wood-framed structure was modestly furnished with blackboards, tables and chairs, row desks, and a potbelly stove. A pressed ceiling was the one decorative element. In 1948, a new kitchen addition allowed students to eat hot lunches. An oil furnace was installed in 1955.

Through consolidation of rural schools in the Shelbyville area, Clarksburg School was closed in 1961. The building was sold for one dollar to the Clarksburg Township, and it became a townhouse for government activities and community events.

Community During the time that Clarksburg School was used

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as an attendance center, several community events were held there. School plays, PTA meetings, box socials, and music venues were popular events. When the building was sold to Clarksburg Township to be used as a town hall, activities such as voting, township trustee meetings, 4-H club meetings, family reunions, wedding events, and anniversary celebrations often occurred there. In 1998, the township took ownership of the Clarksburg United Methodist Church, and this structure became the new community center.

After the school was vacated, former student, Darrell Gregg and his daughter, Rachel, worked diligently to have the school placed on the National Register of Historic Places. This was granted in 2001.

At this time, yearly reunions are held for former Clarksburg School students. Clarksburg School Foundation was formed to seek funds to repair the deteriorating structure. Because efforts to restore the building did not materialize, the school was razed in 2018.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)

Clarksburg School Marker Closeup (Left) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 8, 2024

2. Clarksburg School Marker Closeup (Left)

series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1892.

Location. 39° 19.93′ N, 88° 44.988′ W. Marker is near Shelbyville, Illinois, in Shelby County. It is in Clarksburg Township. It is on 800 North (County Highway 7) ¼ mile west of 2148 East, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2102 Co Hwy 7, Shelbyville IL 62565, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Illinois.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lincoln-Thornton Debate / Lincoln Circuit (approx. 5.6 miles away); First Commercial Pick-up Baler (approx. 5.6 miles away); Traveling the Circuit (approx. 5.6 miles away); Soldiers and Sailors Monument (approx. 5.6 miles away); Freedom Square (approx. 5.6 miles away); Abraham Lincoln - Eighth Judicial District

Clarksburg School Marker Closeup (Center) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 8, 2024

3. Clarksburg School Marker Closeup (Center)

(approx. 5.6 miles away); Anthony Thornton (approx. 5.6 miles away); "Let's Debate" by John McClarey (approx. 5.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shelbyville.

Also see . . . Clarksburg Schoolhouse (PDF). National Register nomination for the schoolhouse, which housed 1st through 8th grades for most of its life. (Prepared by Darrell Gregg; via National Archives) (Submitted on August 8, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Clarksburg School Marker Closeup (Right) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 8, 2024

4. Clarksburg School Marker Closeup (Right)

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 8, 2024

5. Clarksburg School Marker

Clarksburg Schoolhouse image. Click for full size.

Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain), July 20, 2013

6. Clarksburg Schoolhouse

Township officials voted in late 2017 to raze the building, but it was destroyed in March 2018 by an unplanned fire. The cause of the fire – township officials say it was a brush pile burn that accidentally jumped to the building, while others contend it was arson – remains a controversy.

Clarksburg School Classroom image. Click for full size.

David McCleen (Public Domain), September 1999

7. Clarksburg School Classroom

Credits. This page was last revised on August 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 154 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on August 8, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.