A one room schoolhouse was originally established as District One in a deed notarized by Horace D. Hickok, brother of "Wild Bill" Hickok, on August 8, 1865. It was later referred to as the Aitken School after John Malcolm Aitken, a stalwart friend of the cause of education and school director from 1885 to 1905. The building was donated to the LaSalle County Historical Society in 1990 by Unimin Corporation and was relocated to its present site the same year. There it has been restored and furnished by many dedicated friends of one room schoolhouses for educational purposes.