Chana School Museum
The year was 1883. Chester Arthur was President. "Buffalo Bill" Cody was staging his first Wild West Show at the Omaha fairgrounds. The Northern Pacific Railroad, connecting the northwestern states to points east, was finally completed; and out in the northern Plains, buffalo hunters had gathered for the last large buffalo kill. Among them was a Harvard-educated New York assemblyman named Theodore Roosevelt. History was in the making-and that included a little bit of local history. This was the year that Chana Pine Rock School was born. Today this little personal glimpse into the past has been preserved through the restoration of the Chana schoolhouse. It now provides a living history for future generations.

The two-room schoolhouse, now referred to as simply Chana School, served the community from 1883 until it was retired in 1953. It faced destruction in 1997 when the property it was on was sold. Learning it was scheduled for demolition, a concerned group of citizens formed Chana School Foundation to save the school. Relocating it to City Park East in Oregon, volunteers began the restoration in August 1998. Although it took almost five years for volunteers to complete, the school celebrated its grand opening in September 2003. The schoolhouse is now available to help students learn what education was like in the late 1800s. One room is set up like the original classroom might have been. The other room has displays showing what education was like in the 19th century.

In September of 2005, the Chana School was officially placed on the National Registry of Historic Sites.

For more information on the school and to set up tours,
call 815-732-4714 or 815-732-2447