HistoriCorps to Save Missouri’s Surprise School

Nationally Recognized Historic Structure to Undergo Preservation Efforts

Wilderness, MO: HistoriCorps, a national nonprofit dedicated to preserving America’s historic structures, in collaboration with Mark Twain National Forest, will restore Surprise School from August 12 – August 31, 2018. Situated near the banks of the scenic Eleven Point River, the school was crucial to the town’s future. Now, it is the only building left standing, and key to understanding the town’s past. Almost a century later, volunteers from the community, state, and across the nation, will join HistoriCorps’ preservation experts to save this town’s history.

Surprise, Missouri formed around the nearby Turner's Mill, which milled locally-grown grains. The town was named Surprise because its community members were surprised when their request for a U.S. post office was granted. The mill's water wheel was kept in motion by a nearby spring, and remnants of the native rock channel that used to direct the spring water can still be found. The site’s beautiful scenery has been described as Tolkienesque.

HistoriCorps Volunteer Manager Liz Rice is passionate about recruiting volunteers for such picturesque projects because of the difference the opportunity she can make in people’s lives, saying “its wonderfully heartwarming to see volunteers come together to volunteer as a family. One young woman on this project is coming to volunteer alongside her father before she begins her service in the military.”

Volunteering opportunities are still available on this project! Register for FREE today at https://historicorps.org/events/surprise-school-mo/

About HistoriCorps: HistoriCorps, founded in 2009, is a 501(c)3 that provides volunteers of all skill levels with a hands-on experience preserving historic structures for public benefit across America. Volunteers work with HistoriCorps’ seasoned professionals to learn preservation skills and put those skills to work saving historic places. HistoriCorps works to ensure America’s cultural and historical resources will be enjoyed by generations to come.

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