McAuley School District No. 27
Why it's listed
McAuley School is a one-room schoolhouse on Roosevelt Road west of West Chicago, in DuPage County, Illinois. School has been held on the site since at least 1857, when homesteader George McAuley donated the land. The present frame building dates from 1913, funded by school bonds, and is credited in part to local mason and contractor Frank Hartman. It measures 28 by 36 feet and has narrow weatherboard siding, a gabled roof with wide eaves, and a small porch with square columns. Inside, the single classroom retains slate blackboards, maple flooring and an ornamental sheet-metal ceiling. The design closely resembles plans in state school circulars issued in 1906, 1909 and 1916. The school included indoor toilets and met state Standard School requirements early. It remained in operation after consolidation efforts and the disappearance of other one-room districts, and it is described as the only fully recognized one-room school district left in Illinois.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is the only remaining one-room school in Illinois with full recognition as a school district and the last such functioning school in the Midwest. It closely follows the Illinois state superintendent's circular designs for rural schools and survives largely intact. It also met or exceeded the state's Standard School requirements of the period.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82004890, listed June 3, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roosevelt Rd., West Chicago |
|---|---|
| County | DuPage County |
| Listed | June 3, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82004890 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1913 |
| Architect / builder | Frank Hartman |
| Architectural style | Simple frame rural schoolhouse with 'bungaloid' proportions and simple classical revival detailing |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still functioning as a one-room school; the form lists the property as occupied and in educational use. Alterations include 1963 basement and interior changes and two temporary classrooms added in 1971. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 41.90485, -88.24067 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82004890.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14687859
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.