The first Chamnesstown School was built here around 1860 on land donated by Jonathan Scott Chamness. At that time Williamson County was divided into 120 school districts, with each school serving an area of 4 square miles. The one-room schoolhouse used wood stoves for heat, log seats for students, and slates held in children’s laps instead of desks. The area around this trail belonged to Chamnesstown School District No. 45. The school was rebuilt twice and was abandoned in the 1940's after the government purchased the land. In 1976, a reconstruction of the schoolhouse was completed, but it was later demolished because of termite damage and was never replaced. A storm cellar was constructed in the late 1920's after a devastating hurricane struck Southern Illinois, and it can hold 8 people, about the number of students who attended the school.