EAGLE LAKE, Fla. — Neighbors in Eagle Lake are speaking out against plans to demolish a nearly 100-year-old red brick schoolhouse to make way for a new city hall.
The old red-brick schoolhouse in Eagle Lake is where Bill Thornhill learned to read and write, and where he fondly remembers recess.
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“We used to play a lot of marbles. The girls would play jacks and so we had fond memories and a lot of good times,” Thornhill said.
The school is also part of his family’s legacy. "L.H. Thornhill was my grandfather and one of the trustees,” he said.
Now, the century-old building could soon come down. The city plans to demolish it to make way for a new city hall complex estimated to cost around $15 million.
City manager Thomas Ernharth told Tampa Bay 28 Reporter Rebecca Petit, the demolition has been in the works for years.
“It has kind of sat vacant for the last 20 years or so. We used it for special events but other than that it sat vacant. The decision was made back in 2023 to demolish the building and construct a new city hall,” Ernharth said.
He said leaders explored preserving the building, including turning it into a library or museum but determined the building was not safe, there were structural limitations and renovations would be too costly.
“The asbestos is one. Second of all is the way it was constructed. It can not hold the weight of a lot of library books and that kind of stuff. And the bathrooms are up six flights of stairs,” Ernharth said.
Neighbors say the building’s sentimental value outweighs the challenges.
“It’s like our history, like the last building that we have and if we don’t preserve it, our small town everything will be gone. They won’t know anything about our history,” said Sharon Groene.
Commissioners are expected to vote on June 1 on whether to award the demolition bid. As demolition plans move closer, Diana Allen reached out to Rebecca Petit, hoping to bring more attention to the issue.
“We should be celebrating the 100-year-old building and not demolishing the 100-year-old building. I reached out because I didn’t think anybody had reached out to try to save it or stop it or at least let it to be known, so I reached out to you,” Allen said.
Allen wants leaders to fully understand the history that could be lost.
“I don’t know if it’s too late to save it or not but I just want people to know about it and maybe help find a way to stop it,” Allen said.
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