MONROE — The Green County Historical Society will hold a Bethel School open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 14 at the schoolhouse, located outside of the Green County Historical Museum, 1617 9th Street. A country schoolteacher will be available to give insight and information on the school.

Built in 1868 on land donated by Hiram Rust, it is not known why it was named Bethel School. When county roads were given names, the roadway was called Bethel Road. When the bypass around Monroe was built in the 1960s, Bethel Road was interrupted, and the north portion was renamed Youth Cabin Road. The school building was donated to the Historical Society by property owner Albert Deppler in 1970, and it was moved from his property to the grounds of the Green County Historical Society. After being placed on a new foundation, items were sought from students of the school to be placed inside.

From abandonment, peeling paint, boarded up windows and homesteading varmints, the Bethel country schoolhouse is now clean, lit, fitted with items and ready for the new school term. Welcoming school children and parents will be a country school teacher on hand to answer questions of what school life was like in a one-room schoolhouse and perhaps give a lesson from the time. Information on other country schools will be available.

At 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18 at the museum, the Historical Society will hold its Annual Meeting. Light refreshments will be served and a tour of the newly reorganized museum will be conducted. The board encourages all interested public to attend.