Rediscovered sidewalk, bell memories of Southern Illinois

EWING, Ill. -- Some people might have seen the discovery as nothing more than an old brick sidewalk covered by 6 to 8 inches of dirt and grass. Gordon Carpenter, however, saw it as a bright pathway that showcased this Franklin County community's history.

What was recently discovered on the property where Ewing-Northern Grade School sits is the original sidewalk that led to the old Ewing College, a school founded in 1891.

The journey began several months ago when Carpenter's son, Chris, who is a city employee in Ewing, was part of a crew working in front of the Ewing-Northern Grade School.

"We were digging up a village sidewalk in front of the school and we found a couple of bricks and didn't know for sure what they were," Chris Carpenter said. "So we kept digging and soon discovered more bricks and then we found the sidewalk, still intact."

The 4-foot-wide sidewalk made from diagonally laid red brick runs approximately 100 feet. Chris told his father about the discovery and that set the elder Carpenter in motion to save the sidewalk.

"We were contacted by a gentleman who said he had the original bell that hung in a bell tower at Willard Hall, which was part of Ewing College," Gordon Carpenter said. "We decided at that point to uncover the sidewalk completely and restore it and then display the bell at the end of the old sidewalk."

Gordon Carpenter said the old bell had some tales to tell.

"It's always been said that the boys at the college used to climb into the tower and steal the bell and then hide it," Carpenter said.

The preservation project, he said, soon became a community-wide effort.

The Ewing Township road commissioner is going to bring in a road grader and feather back the edges from the sidewalk, and the fire department is going to bring a pumper truck here to wash the old bricks off," Carpenter said. "It's really turned into a community and a cooperative effort."

Mayor pitched in

Mayor Paul Walker even built a large metal frame for the bell to be displayed in, Carpenter added. "It's been a great effort with a lot of people working together," he said.

David Goss, a longtime teacher at Ewing-Northern grade school, is a local historian and recently wrote a book about the history of Northern Township. Goss said he considers the discovery of the sidewalk significant for future generations.

"It's interesting that when the college closed and the old buildings were torn down that nobody thought of the foundations or the sidewalks," Goss said. "It always felt like to me, as a teacher here at Ewing, that the spirit of the old college and its dedication to learning in a rural area was still present. I felt that all the way through my teaching time."

Gordon Carpenter said that at its peak the college had more than 300 students. This was at a time when many students were fortunate just to be able to attend grade school.

"There was a gymnasium, a library, Willard Hall, two boys' dormitories and one girls' dormitory," Carpenter said. "Ewing College even had a football team. It was quite a place for that era."