Representatives from the Olive Branch Preservation Society will meet with a specialist next week to perform a “feasibility study” on the historic building, which will give them an estimate of how much it will cost to fully renovate, as well as a list of end uses for the building, once restored.

Bill Berry, local historian and member of the Olive Branch Preservation Society, said that the move to restore the historic building to its former glory began in 2007. He said the original goals of the committee were to preserve the unique structure, as well as have it placed upon the national register of historic sites. The committee officially formed a board of trustees in 2009, which is also when they received 501c3 status. Also in 2009, the National Department of the Interior granted their request to add Olive Branch to the national register. Berry said that after their initial momentum, the committee backed out of the spotlight as to not compete with the Board of Education’s requests for educational levies, as the requests for levy money as well as Olive Branch preservation funds could have been misinterpreted.

Berry said that Phase One of the renovation plan included removing the asbestos from the building, and noted that after learning the results of the feasibility study, that the remaining processes will be broken down into subsequent phases.

“We’re now in Phase One—we need to move forward. We need to know what needs to be done, and we need to break that down in phases,” said Berry. “Before we even begin to think about fundraisers, we need to be able to tell our donors what we plan to do, and we also need to know what we can use the building for.”

Berry said his best idea for the renovated building would be to use it as a museum or archive retrieval site for the community. The building currently serves as the district’s storage warehouse, where the paper products and other items are kept. A new roof was recently completed on the Olive Branch building, which will aid the preservation attempts as well as keep the district supplies protected from the elements.

“This is one of the most unique little buildings that exist in the state of Ohio,” said Berry. “We know of no other buildings in the state that were built like that—it’s referred to as the craftsman style.”

Berry said he had always been intrigued as to why the school board originally approved architect Charles Inscoe Williams’ plan to build such a uniquely-shaped building, saying that although Williams was a highly-regarded architect in the Dayton area at the time, that it was not similar to his other styles. Berry said that a smattering of similar octagonal buildings were erected at the time in rural Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio as farm buildings, and wondered if Board of Education member Mr. Scarff was influenced by the agricultural designs, being an agricultural man himself.

Berry said that the committee received an estimate of renovation costs back in 2007, which then put the repairs at $800,000, a figure Berry knows will be noticeably higher now. He said he does not expect to raise that kind of money in western Clark County, but said he still expects the citizens of New Carlisle and the surrounding communities to step up and donate as much as they can to the preservation of our local unique school building.

Berry expects to gain the results of the feasibility study in coming weeks, and will work with the Board of Education and the community in attempt to raise the funds needed to restore Olive Branch. He said he will likely have to reach out to different foundations in order to obtain larger grants.