VILLAS – Lower Township Council gave thumbs up, Dec. 7, to the newly formed Friends of the Fishing Creek School to begin restoration of a one-room schoolhouse here built in 1888.
The Fishing Creek School still has a bell in the belfry, original floors and even a chalkboard in the front room.
Mayor Michael Beck called the school a “hidden treasure.”
Norris Clark, president of the Friends of the Fishing Creek School, said the school was sort of hidden in the woods between Villas Diner and Domino’s Pizza, off Bayshore Road. He said the goal of the non-profit organization was to restore the school and property for public use including building a gazebo for summer outdoor band concerts.
Clark said the property could be used for picnics and public ceremonies. The school could be used for classes and workshops, historical exhibits, as a welcome center and as a place for children’s activities, he said.
The group wants to stabilize the building, install a new roof, stop a chimney from falling off and remove partitions to return it to its original layout.
Clark said the township leases the school from the state. The lease indicates the school should be used for recreation and conservation, historic, cultural and educational activities.
The township earmarked $20,000 in its 2009 capital budget for repairs to the Fishing Creek School, said Clark. He said the organization has received an estimate of $24,299 to install a cedar shake roof and remove the chimney.
The organization set a goal to raise $25,000 in its first year by going to corporate donors, businesses and offering $10 memberships to residents.
Councilman Wayne Mazurek called the project “a terrific idea.”
The group has a Web site:/www.fishingcreekschool.org
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