Here at Property Watch, we love to see adaptive reuse, that process by which an old building, like a church, is given new life and purpose. Such projects tend to blend of creativity and history, and this schoolhouse-turned-home is no different.

The history of this little school, in unincorporated Multnomah County off of Cornelius Pass Road, begins with the Folkenberg family, who moved to Portland in 1875 and acquired 300 acres of pasture and forest bordering the road. After the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905, Portland was on the rise, and this area wasn’t immune to the prospects of growth. In 1911, the Folkenbergs sold 107 acres to a real estate developer to be converted into home lots. As the lots slowly sold, this school, called the Folkenberg School, was built in 1913 to serve the area’s children.

However, the developer’s plans were never fully realized, and many of the lots went unbuilt. By 1936 the school’s enrollment numbered six students, and it closed. It was subsequently used as a community hall for local dances and, by 1971, had become a home. (Shout-out to Doug Decker for compiling a thorough historic background on the home for the listing and next buyers.)

The building has had only a few owners since the ’70s, each making substantial changes to the interiors in order to convert a one-room schoolhouse into a livable home. For instance, what was presumably one cavernous room was later divided into two floors, with an interior staircase added. Now, the main floor has the living spaces and a hallway with two bedrooms and a bathroom. Upstairs, there’s a huge bonus room and the primary suite, both with the school’s original vaulted, wood-clad ceilings still in view.

The home sits on a little rise, so the deep front porch has a wonderful prospect over the property, which clocks in at a full acre. It includes meandering lawns, forest, and views of a treed skyline. Thanks to a painstaking remodel by the current owners, the home drips with vintage character throughout, melding a lot of the original features, like the wood floors pounded by dancing feet, with meaningful updates, like a new kitchen in what was once the boys' cloakroom and a cheery red exterior paint.

Inside the main room with the combined living spaces, both walls are lined with three huge, double-hung windows, bringing in dappled light and woodsy views. The dining corner has an antique wood-burning stove in a tin-tiled niche, while the nearby kitchen is much newer, with its Shaker-style cabinets, bright aqua backsplash tile, wood counters, and an apron sink.

In similar fashion, the hall bathroom was updated, but all of its features stay in sync with the rest of the house: think wood wainscot, crown molding, a pedestal sink, and clawfoot tub. The two bedrooms on this floor both have the huge, double-hung windows and wood floors, and one has a salvaged hutch converted to a built-in desk to double as office space or homework corner.

The second floor has 1,030 square feet, roughly split between the bonus room and primary suite, and both with those vaulted ceilings and a few skylights added. The bonus room has its own separate sink area that would be easy enough to convert to a kitchenette. The primary suite has abundant storage and a large bathroom with the second clawfoot tub, tiled shower, and custom vanity.

Perhaps our favorite part, though, is how the bedroom has a lofted, window-lined nook. Behind two bright-red sliding doors are closets, and through the ceiling hatch? Access to the original bell tower for calling students to their lessons a hundred years ago.

Listing Fast Facts 

• Address: 18110 NW Sixth Ave, Portland, OR 97231
• Size: 3,620 square feet/3 bedroom/2 bath 
• List Date: 5/22/2023 
• List Price: $675,000 
• Listing Agent: Robin Springer and Melissa Ewbank, Windermere Realty Trust

Melissa Dalton is a freelance writer who has focused on Pacific Northwest design and lifestyle since 2008. She is based in Portland, Oregon. Contact Dalton here. 

Editor’s Note: Portland Monthly’s “Property Watch” column takes a weekly look at an interesting home in Portland’s real estate market (with periodic ventures to the burbs and points beyond, for good measure). Got a home you think would work for this column? Get in touch at [email protected].