Charter Oak Schoolhouse
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Charter Oak Schoolhouse | |
 Front of the schoolhouse | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Schuline, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°5′21″N 89°47′38″W / 38.08917°N 89.79389°W |
| Built | 1873 |
| Architect | William M. Holcomb |
| Architectural style | Octagon Mode |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001181 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | October 11, 1978 |
The Charter Oak Schoolhouse is a historic octagonal school building in Schuline, Illinois, located on the Evansville/Schuline Road between Schuline and Walsh. Built in 1873, it served as a public primary school until 1953. The school was one of 53 octagonal schoolhouses built in the United States, of which only three survive. The building is now used as a museum by the Randolph County Historical Society and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The one-room schoolhouse is a one-story building with an octagonal plan. The building's foundation is made of locally quarried limestone, while the building's walls were built with red brick. A louvered belfry, which may not have been added until 1883, tops the building's low-sloping roof. Courses of corbelled brick along the roof line form the building's cornice. The vestibule at the school's entrance is sided with clapboard and rests on a concrete foundation. 53 octagonal schoolhouses were built in the United States, of which the school was the only one built in Illinois.[2] The school is one of three of these octagonal schoolhouses which is still standing.[3]
