As I write this column, Gurnee Grade School is being torn down. In fact, it may very well be all gone. When my husband, Bob and I went past it on Oct. 15, the newest part had already been demolished. The older sections, at first glance, looked to be intact. However, as I looked through the windows, I could see that there was no back wall. Pretty much, only the facade remained.
The former school grounds will be converted into a park, which will help alleviate some of the flooding that occurs when the nearby Des Plaines River overflows its banks. District 56 did not have to sandbag there this year when the river flooded. That's because students from Gurnee Grade School moved to the River Trail School, formerly O'Plaine School, in Gurnee. Another school, Prairie Trail, was completed in January in Wadsworth to accommodate the students from River Trail.
People have asked me why Gurnee Grade was built on the floodplain. Well, it's simple. Back before the interstates, before automobiles, before railroads, waterways – rivers, lakes, oceans – were a main source of transportation. Many towns and cities were built along waterways and the Des Plaines River was no exception.
When the first Gurnee school building was built around 1838, it made perfect sense to build it by the river. The first church in Warren Township, now known as Gurnee Community Church, was built alongside the Gurnee school on Kilbourne Road across from Mother Rudd's Tavern. (Yes, it was Mother Rudd's Tavern, not "home," although Wealthy Rudd probably lived there. It was an inn and a stop for weary travelers, as well as a stop on the Underground Railroad.)
According to the Warren Township Historical Society, a second school building was erected in 1840. It was later relocated a quarter mile down the road after a protest by parents who objected to their children"seeing drunken men at the saloon across the road."
In 1868, a two-room brick building was erected and James Alvord is listed as the first teacher in the new school. Students from first to 10th grade attended. Those who wished to complete their high school education then had to board in Waukegan or to travel by horse and buggy to attend Waukegan High School. Tuition was $25 per year.
As the population of Gurnee grew, the school building grew with several additions. Warren Township High School erected its own building on O'Plaine Road, and Gurnee Grade School became an elementary school. Viking School was built in 1970 (the current building was erected in 1998) to house sixth, seventh and eighth grades, with kindergarten through fifth grades remaining at Gurnee Grade.
When Spaulding School District was dissolved, Gurnee District 56 now included Spaulding North School. Later, O'Plaine School was added, and most recently, Gurnee Grade School became a magnet school.
Of course, many people have had ties to Gurnee Grade School. While neither Bob nor I attended it, both of our kids are graduates of District 56. Both Tom and Lisa attended Gurnee Grade School for a number of years, and both requested bricks from the building to keep as souvenirs. Bob and I attended the demolition ceremony on Sept. 30 and got a couple of bricks, and have since been able to get a few more (we had requests from our kids' friends to get bricks for them). Bricks are available while supplies last and may be obtained from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekdays from the Gurnee Public Works Building, 1151 Kilbourne Road.
Nancy Long lives in Gurnee.