'Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie' to benefit Pringle School Aug. 12

The McHenry County Historical Society will host "Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie," a fundraiser for Pringle School, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12, at the schoolhouse, 21596 River Road, just west of Route 23, in Marengo.

Presented by Elizabeth Carlson, experience what school life was like in 1870 when "Miss Hoffman" conducts this witty and interactive "review" of the lessons her students have learned.

Admission is $15 and benefits Pringle School Restoration Fund.

Pringle School was built in 1867 from limestone quarried at Garden Prairie and transported by wagon to land donated by the Patterson Pringles. It is one of four one-room schools built along a trail that was to become River Road and the third building in that district. Consolidation of one-room schools began in the 1920s in this county, but many remained in operation until 1947, including Pringle School. It became part of the Hawthorn School District 17 on Carmack Road.

The building was purchased by Melba Brewington, a Chicago connoisseur of antiques, art, and glassware. She used the building as a residence until her death in 1967, when it was purchased by the DiBona family of Marengo.

In 2002, the McHenry County Historical Society acquired Pringle School from the DiBona family and set about restoring the structure back into a classroom. Work included the installation of salvaged, period flooring; plastering and a new roof using machine-sawn shingles. Other projects involve restoring the foyer and the classroom storage cubicles, as well as tuckpointing.

Carlson is a historian and a performer with concentration in the domestic arts. For more than 30 years, she worked as a curator in small to mid-sized museums. She earned a bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University and a master's degree in historical administration and museum studies from the University of Kansas.

Visit mchenrycountyhistory.org/little-schoolhouse-prairie or www.facebook.com/McHenryCountyHistoricalSociety/.