Originally compiled by past East Peoria Historical Society President, Frank Borror, in August 2014

Pleasant Hill grade school dated from April 1856, when a one-room frame school was built by L. W. Hampton for the sum of $536. This structure was on one-half acre of land located at the southwest corner of section 12 of Groveland Township,  just west of Pleasant Hill Road on what is now Muller Road. This property was deeded on February 3, 1855, by Calvin Merian (sic) to the Trustees of Schools for Groveland Township for the benefit of School District #1. District #1 had been laid off as a district by the Township Commissioners in February 1850. Prior to that time, school was taught by John McGinnis in a log cabin in near what is now Muller Road Fire Station as early as 1834 and after that at the Methodist Meeting House that was also in the vicinity. 

The first Township School Trustees were appointed on January 3, 1846 and in May of that year, distributed funds from the sale of public school lands. When townships were laid out, section #16 was dedicated as public school lands and the proceeds from the sale of these lands were for the benefit of schools. October 9, 1847 the trustees divided the township into six common school districts, and on April 30, 1855 the first tax for the benefit of schools in Groveland Township was levied at the rate of 25 cents on every $100 valuation of real estate. Pleasant Hill’s first school board members were Calvin Marion, R. Bradshaw, and David Ogle, and the first teacher employed was Amanda Bartlett who started a three-month term in July of 1856 with a salary of $4.25 per week. The school opened with six students and by 1859 had over twenty-five. The school was originally believed to be called Mooberry School and why it was called Pleasant Hill may have been because it was on Pleasant Hill Road. It is unknown if the school was named for the road or the road for the school and why either one is named such is a mystery, because nothing else referring to Pleasant Hill can be found anywhere in the area. 

Groveland School District #1 became Common Grade School District #79 on July 1, 1901. With the completion of the Illinois Traction Railroad and the establishment of the Gardena subdivision, most of the pupils were located north of the school, so on May 13, 1916, School District #79 purchased Lot 7 in Gardena Subdivision, and the frame building was moved to that site. Five years later on June 23, 1921 lots 5 and 6 were purchased from Elgin Paris, and two wooden additions were added. Stu Eidson recalls that when he attended Pleasant Hill its facilities were state of the art – they had four two-holers, and the boys had to pass the women’s, the men’s, and the girl’s before they got to theirs and that was a long trek when it was 10 below. Stu also recalls that although he attended there for eight years his name was spelled wrong in the program for his graduation. 

A brick addition was added in 1937, and a gymnasium in 1954, following the purchase of lot # 8 from Ida Swartz et al on March 18, 1942. On the opposite side of Pleasant Hill Road, in 1964, a new building was constructed containing six classrooms, and an addition was added to it in 1967. District #79 was soon faced with financial woes, and petitioned to be annexed by East Peoria District #86 in July 1970. Following the annexation to District #86, the old school and additions on the East of Pleasant Hill Road were torn down in November of 1972. Because of a drop in attendance, District #86 closed Pleasant Hill School on June 5, 1984. Lots 7 and 8 were purchased by Robert G. Johnson, and today the school’s gymnasium is Pleasant Hill Antique Mall. In March 2003, the newer school building across the road was purchased by CrossPoint Church. A number of pictures related to the school are displayed in the antique mall, as well as the basketball scoreboard donated by the class of 1953. 

David Ogle merits discussion for his financial contribution to early area schools. David was one of the initial board members of Pleasant Hill School and in 1882 set up the Ogle Trust amounting to $12,500 with the instructions:  “The fund is to be held in trust for the benefit of the common schools …. The principal is to be kept intact and the invested interest is to be distributed annually to Groveland schools on a basis of actual attendance.” By today’s standards, that does not seem to be much, but when schools operated on several hundred dollars a year that was a lot of money.