Clarksburg Schoolhouse
Also known as: Bethel Schoolhouse; Clarksburg Townhouse
Why it's listed
Clarksburg Schoolhouse is a one-and-a-half-story, ell-shaped frame building put up around 1892 in rural Shelby County, Illinois. It began as Bethel School and took the Clarksburg name after the village was formed. It retains its original horizontal clapboard siding, wooden windows, hardwood floors, chalkboards, wainscoting and pressed-metal ceilings in its two classrooms. A kitchen was added in the 1930s, a coatroom in the 1940s, and restrooms in the 1960s. The school taught grades one through eight until 1948, when seventh and eighth graders began attending school in Shelbyville. Younger grades continued until the early 1960s. The township then bought the building for one dollar and used it as the Clarksburg Townhouse, hosting voting, community gatherings and 4-H meetings until 1998. It is now vacant. It is valued as a rare survivor, because the nearby Mode Schoolhouse was demolished in 2000 and other local schools are gone.
Significance in brief: The school is locally significant under Criterion A for education. It educated children of the Clarksburg area from about 1892 until the early 1960s. It is one of the last surviving rural schoolhouses in the area, since the nearby Mode Schoolhouse was demolished in 2000 and other area schools have been destroyed.
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 00000952, listed January 25, 2001. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Clarksburg Rd. 1 mi. E of Cty Rd. 800 N/2025 E, Clarksburg |
|---|---|
| County | Shelby County |
| Listed | January 25, 2001 |
| Reference number | 00000952 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | circa 1892-1950 |
| Architectural style | other: Two-Room School |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as vacant/not in use; the building served as the township townhouse until 1998. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 39.33208, -88.74979 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 00000952.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16890448
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.