GENEVA-ON-THE-LAKE — The music of Geneva Township Park is the muffled sound of small feet on the grass, tinkling laughter of children swinging high on playground equipment and the occasional cry as a kite catches the Lake Erie breeze and floats away.
Perched on the shore of Lake Erie and boasting beach access and a spectacular lake view, the park holds a piece of village history.
The 1883 schoolhouse, which was once wooden but now stands in red brick, has been the centerpiece of the park since the village’s earliest days. But the sagging front porch was becoming more than just an eyesore, park fiscal officer Sharon McDerment said; it was becoming a hazard.
“The old porch was falling apart,” McDerment said. “But we weren’t sure if the porch was an original part of the building or something that was added later.”
While McDerment said every effort is made to keep the schoolhouse looking original, the porch serves as more than just steps to the front door.
“The roofed porch is such a nice place to sit in the shade, we decided to rebuild it,” she said.
The Geneva Township Park Commission hired carpenter Brian McDerment to do the job. Brian McDerment worked in the August heat this week to finish the porch so late-summer visitors can enjoy the shade and breeze, he said.
Besides the bricks-and-mortar repair of the little one-room school, Sharon McDerment said the commission is working to restore the inside of the building and hopes to open it to the public as a museum.
“The school is deemed a historical site, and a new plaque will be put up there soon,” she said. “A new sign will also go up with the proper information on the school.”
Sharon McDerment said the school serves as the park office and for storage, but, with the right information and support, the building could see a new generation of visitors.
“Our goal is to eventually clean it out and get everything organized and fill it with things that would be in the school 100 years ago,” she said.
The problem is, the commission has no idea what the inside of the school looked like all those years ago.
“We have no pictures that show what the inside of the school looked like, which is sad,” she said. “We are hoping someone will come forward with memories or pictures or anything about the school.”
Sharon McDerment said failing solid original research on the building, the commission may research other one-room schoolhouses of the era and then decorate the school as it may have looked.
“The school is such a neat piece of history,” she said. “It is a piece of the past, right in the middle of a public park. Our goals will take some time, but we know people will appreciate how unique it really is.”
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