15-year-old leads project to restore historic one-room schoolhouse in Clay Township
CLAY TWP — One determined teenager is leading a mission to restore one of Butler County’s historic one-room schoolhouses from a state of abandonment to its former glory.
15-year-old Andrew Huth is leading a group of volunteers on a mission to restore the long-abandoned Euclid School in Clay Township.
The group, which also includes his father Joe and mother Sarah, is hoping to restore the former schoolhouse as a historic site.
“I noticed that it was becoming further in disrepair as the years went by,” Andrew said. “I thought it would be a shame to waste the history that was created there, and it'd be nice to just fix it up so people could come see it as it was.”
For over 100 years, the white one-room building on Euclid Street served as the center of Clay Township. It had opened in 1844 as a schoolhouse and closed sometime in the 1950s or 60s, but the building continued to hold public Clay Township events and serve as a polling place until the mid-1980s. Then, the township’s current municipal building was constructed less than a thousand feet away.
Now, the old schoolhouse has been left in an abandoned state, which the teen and the others from the group are hoping to rectify.
Andrew, with his mother’s support, first proposed restoring the schoolhouse at a township board of supervisors meeting in November 2025. Since then, multiple Clay Township personnel have offered their support to the project, with township supervisor Jeff Scott coming on board, and secretary/treasurer Beth Hays setting up a bank account for the group.
The group is taking inspiration from similar one-room schoolhouse restoration projects in Butler County, such as the Foltz School House in Slippery Rock, which closed in 1963. The building was reopened to the public in 2022, after an extensive restoration which was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We've worked a lot with the Foltz school, and they gave us some tips and pointers,” Sarah said.
“I think theirs was in much worse shape than this one,” Joe Huth said.
The Euclid School House will get some time in the spotlight on Saturday, Sept. 12 when the Butler County Historical Society hosts its Schoolhouse Driving Tour. Euclid will be one of seven vintage one-room schoolhouses visitors can take a look at on the tour, along with the aforementioned Foltz, Crocker School in Slippery Rock, Six Points in Parker, Forsythe School in Mars, Sample School in Cranberry Township, and the Little Red School House in Butler.
“It’s bringing awareness to the community that we have this school here, and we have a group that's interested in restoring it in partnership with the township,” Sarah Huth said.
In addition to financial support, the group is also looking for photographs or personal testimony from anyone who may have actually attended the school at one point or had family members who did, to help make the restoration as accurate as possible.
The group is also seeking help from any business who may be able to contribute skilled labor to the project when the restoration is ready to begin.
“In addition to monetary donations, we would be interested in in businesses in the community that offer roofing services or carpentry businesses, that might want to donate their time,” Joe Huth said.
Anyone interested in donating money, time, or expertise to the restoration project is encouraged to contact Hays at 724-637-2638, or send an e-mail to euclidschoolrestoration@gmail.com.
