DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — A piece of local history is on the move Tuesday morning. A historical one-room schoolhouse is slowly moving from private land to the Walter Jones Historical Park.
The move was only supposed to take two hours, but it has already been a few hours with more still to go.
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The president of the Mandarin Museum says it's well worth it.
"We are so excited that it's going to be saved and moved to the Walter Jones Park," said Karen Roumillat vice president of Mandarin Museum.
The schoolhouse is the last of its' kind in Duval County. It was built in 1889 for the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
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"This is where people from France crossed the ocean to teach freed black slaves and give them an education," said Matt Schellenberg Mandarin city councilman. "That's a wonderful lesson to be heard, not only here but everywhere."
However, the historical schoolhouse wasn't an easy or cheap move.
"The total cost of breakdown and move is about $100,000," said Schellenberg. "We gave about $50,000."
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Half of the funds came out of Mandarin's appropriations fund. Roumillat said it was money well spent to give people in mandarin a first-hand education.
"Now students will get to really visualize and touch what they learn," said Roumillat.
Schellenberg said he didn't even know the building was there, but once residents in the district told him how important it was to them, he knew he had to help save it.