History - Berea District 7 schoolhouse

​Located on Bagley Road just east of Eastland Road, Berea District 7 schoolhouse was built in 1914 on the site of a one room school in what was then Middleburg Township.  It was built for a cost of $60,000 paid for by a Bond approved in the November general election of 1912.  The building was used as a school until about 1923 when a larger school was needed to serve the growing community. 

The building sat empty and neglected until 1935 when it was sold at public auction.  It was purchased by the Berea Fine Arts Club for use as an arts center.  During World War II it was used as a recreation center for servicemen.  In 1975, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1980, the Berea Fine Arts Club transferred the building to the Berea Jaycees Home Company. 

​Finally in 1998, the Berea Little Red Schoolhouse Foundation a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation was formed to preserve and restore the building.  In 2006, the foundation partnered with Southwest 7 Arts LLC to revitalize the building as a fine arts center to generate sustaining income to preserve and restore the aging structure.  In 2017, the Berea Fine Arts Club returned to the schoolhouse to carry on the mission of arts education.

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