Correctionville's first brick schoolhouse has been standing here since 1872. Correctionville residents working for a local brickyard dug the clay nearby hand-formed and fired for the schoolhouse.
The building was repaired in the 1950s and 1990s. In the late 1990s, the community raised money, obtained funding from Missouri River Historical Development (MRHD) and recruited volunteers to replace the windows, roof, gutters and downspouts, and tuck-point the building. I 2002, a new bell tower was added and the original bell was rehung, returning the building closer to the original appearance.
For most of Correctionville's history, the old brick schoolhouse building has served the needs of Correctionville residents. For the first 12 years it was used as a school, until the number of students grew so large that a bigger school was needed. The building provided extra classrooms in the late 1880s and again between 1956 and 1976, because of large enrollments.
Since 1884 the building has been used primarily as a meeting place for military veterans and auxiliary groups. First it housed the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), who were Union veterans of the Civil War, and the Women's Relief Corps. The building was called T.A.R. Hall.
Following World War I, the American Legion and Auxiliary also
met in G.A.R. Hall. Between the 1950s and 1970s, veterans groups met in Merchants State Bank, so this building could be used as classrooms. The veterans returned to the G.A.R. Hall/Vets Center in 1979. Today it is used by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Legion Auxiliary.
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