If the books Eloise and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler have shown us anything, it’s that there’s something thrilling about living in an institution you’d normally only visit. But while most of us won’t run off to reside in busy hotels or art museums, folks across the country are making themselves at home in other places that are just as unlikely: former schools.
As you might imagine, buildings that once held hundreds of children often become mansions when they’re repurposed into single-family homes. Case in point: this stunning Iowa residence. Serving as the Milford Township School from 1923 until the early ’90s, the brick structure was purchased in 2006 by a couple dreaming of having space to explore their creative pursuits.
It underwent a six-year-long gut renovation to transform the former school into a 6,000-square-foot single family home atop a 7,000-square-foot studio and workshop space. Luke Jensen, the couple’s son, explained to Realtor.com that the original classroom layouts easily translated into rooms for the updated home.
“Every piece of wood was harvested and then replaned and refinished and put back down, maybe in a different location, but all the wood floor was original to the school,” Jensen said, adding, “There’s a huge and strong alumni tradition — people come back and share stories. It has an important place in the community.” His parents sold the property last year, and it’s since become an Airbnb and event space.
In Indiana, another couple purchased an abandoned schoolhouse with a different purpose in mind: raising their family in it. In 2021, after living in New York City for a decade, Stacie Grissom and Sean Wilson moved to Franklin, Indiana, and bought the 9,000-square-foot building, which hadn’t been used as a school since 1934, for $175,000. It had a broken roof and decaying windows, among other features in need of repair.
Documenting their renovation journey on social media and accumulating nearly 1 million followers on Instagram in the process, the pair encountered obstacles ranging from quirky (scattered archaeological objects in their backyard) to dangerous (a doorway that could have led to a nasty fall).
“Most days, we feel like the building is teaching us more than our minds can handle,” Grissom said in a YouTube video. “But through it all, I’m just so thankful, because we could’ve never done it alone.” Citing family, contractors, and other supporters, she added, “This project has taken a village.” While there are still small jobs left to complete, the couple, who now have two children, finally moved into their passion project last fall.
In some cases, former schoolhouses are putting their massive buildings to good use for the community. Charleston, South Carolina’s Henry P. Archer Elementary School was originally built in 1934 for segregated Black students. In 2020, four decades after the school closed, its neighborhood was experiencing gentrification, and many lifelong residents could no longer afford to live there — so the nonprofit Humanities Foundation bought the structure and revamped it into Archer School Apartments, providing affordable housing for seniors.
Not only did the foundation honor the school’s original charm, restoring its hardwood floors and exposed brick walls, but it also incorporated new safety features, like a modern flood management system. The revamped building, which opened last year, boasts 89 apartments housing people aged 55 and older with low-to-moderate incomes.
“It allows folks that have grown up in this neighborhood and this part of the city to be able to afford to live here,” former Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg told WCBD News 2 in 2022, adding, “Charleston sets the trend that affordable housing doesn’t need to be shabby or second rate. It can be first-class. It can be beautiful.”
For Reverend Matthew Rivers, an Archer Elementary School alum, it was important that the developers continue the legacy of the children who’d once attended the school. “As an alumni, listen, you can’t even describe it, because the joy we had as little kids — I grew up right across the street here,” he told Live 5 News. “Walked to the school every morning, walked to the Piggly Wiggly, got food for my mom, and when I think about what we had at this school in terms of what the teachers instilled in us … you can see the result of that, that many of us went on to do great things.” Rivers added his support of the project: “The community spoke.”
Eager to explore more former schoolhouses? Scroll through these recent listings (some of them are still for sale).
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