SYCAMORE | Along Brickville Road in Sycamore sits a piece of history.

In an area once called North Grove (for its vast amount of trees), members of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church built a one-room schoolhouse to teach students lessons in Swedish.

Now, 128 years later, members of the North Grove Association are looking to make the schoolhouse, 26745 Brickville Road, into a museum with hours open to the public so residents can visit the historic school more often.

“We need to see that it is easy to use,” said Teresa Irving, publicity and events coordinator for the North Grove School Association.

Only one problem stands in the way: funding.

The Sycamore School District 427 owns the old schoolhouse, but doesn’t have the funding for programs. Since 1985, North Grove School Association has funded programs and protected the school from being shut down through membership dues and donations.

North Grove School is one of the few one-room schoolhouses in DeKalb County that still stands in the spot where it was first built, Irving said. The schoolhouse was never replaced, only restored, with some of the original furniture still there.

But a number of improvements still need to be made. Irving said the school still has no heat or bathroom facilities. The Association also wants to build a community center next to the school.

The school has already seen improvements from the Association. Last summer, the sidewalk was replaced as well as the school’s exterior paint.

The school is in a good replica status, the upkeep isn’t too expensive and the Association’s main focus is to have the school used more by the Sycamore School District and town, Irving said.

Residents can learn much from the school’s history, Irving said.

The first black family that lived in Sycamore was welcomed by the Swedes and attended the same school house, Irving said.

“In other areas, that didn’t happen for 50 to 60 years,” she said. “It’s a lesson for today.”

So far, the school has only been used for special programs. DeKalb County Historian Phyllis Kelley taught a couple of week-long classes to fifth graders at the school a few years ago, she said. It was a program sponsored by Kishwaukee College.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts still hold programs at the school to learn about its history. The school has also been used for spelling bees, art shows and forest preserve programs.

Despite all the events at the school, residents have lost interest in the school before.

“Our goal is to see that doesn’t happen again,” Irving said.

Kelley agrees the schoolhouse should be saved for its historical uniqueness.

“Both modern day teachers and students could benefit greatly by studying the history of education using the site,” Kelley said.