For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Kalos, Interim President, WVHS
610-275-1298 or kalosfam@aol.com
Blue Bell, PA The WVHS is thrilled to have received a $20,000 grant to make repairs at its historic Franklinville School. The grant comes from Pennsylvania's Department of Community & Economic Development "Keystone Communities Program."
Built in 1858, the Franklinville School, a one-room schoolhouse, appears on the National Register of Historic Places, not just for its age, but for its contribution to the community. It achieved its status because it was a vital community center, used by those who loved history. In the 1920s, a local newspaper reported that one event attracted a thousand residents! Today the public sees the Franklinville School depicted as a 19th-century classroom.
The white-stucco school on Morris Road was saved from demolition in the early 1980s by the Historical Society of Whitpain (since merged with WVHS), but temporarily the building is closed due to its unsound condition.
The grant will pay for only about a third of the total cost of repairs (which include fixing unsafe porches, a hazardous electrical system, and water under the building), so the WVHS is seeking donations to complete the renovations.
The Franklinville School will be used for events, school visits, and educational opportunities for high school and college students.
“Without this grant and individual contributions, the Franklinville School would continue to deteriorate. We certainly appreciate both the grant and the community’s donations to save this historic building,” says Marie Goldkamp, WVHS Board Member and former President of the Historical Society of Whitpain.
Donations can be made online at www.WValleyHS.org or by mail to WVHS, P.O. Box 96, Ambler, PA 19002.
The Wissahickon Valley Historical Society works to promote and preserve the history of Ambler Borough, Whitpain Township, and Lower Gwynedd Township. Its headquarters and museum are located in Blue Bell at the historic Whitpain 1895 Public School. The society welcomes new members.
