RATHDRUM — Nestled in a quiet neighborhood on West Twin Lakes Road, the Twin Lakes Community Schoolhouse seems ready for its much-needed makeover.

The old school, built as the Upper Twin Lakes School in 1920, is one of the last existing one-room prairie schoolhouses in the area. It has been used as a community center its whole life, but now that it's nearing its 100th birthday, local citizens and neighbors are restoring it to its historic beauty while preparing it to last for generations to come.

"It's kind of a special place," said Brenda Watkins, president of Twin Lakes Community Schoolhouse Foundation, Inc. "It's been a big part of our community."

The Foundation raised $25,000 in just more than two years to complete the several phases of repair, which include replacing the buckling north foundation wall, ensuring plumbing and electric are up to code, grading around the building to permit proper drainage and other details.

But these repairs won't make this 1985 National Historic Register addition unrecognizable. It is the goal of all involved to keep as close to the original building as possible, from the original woodwork to the historic and wavy window glass.

"This is irreplaceable," Jolene Pooley, a founder of the Twin Lakes Community Schoolhouse Foundation, said while examining the northeast wall of the building's foundation. "We do not want a portion of this wall to look new, because it's impossible to replace this look. This is hand-mixed, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow."

Bob Buck of Spirit Lake, owner of Buck Construction, is leading the work. He has experience in the restoration of historically significant places.

"It's got to be done, and I love to do it," Buck said. "We can be positive (the Twin Lakes School) will never go anywhere. It's going to be here a while."

The Foundation was awarded a $5,000 grant by the Idaho Heritage Trust last November to help its efforts to continue the project. Idaho Heritage Trust executive director Katherine Kirk, who met with foundation members at the school Tuesday, said one thing the Trust looks for in distributing funds is that the project is something historically valuable to its community.

"It's the memories and the stories that are important to communities," Kirk said. "That carries on to the next generation. For us, it's helping those communities maintain their heritage."

Kirk said she's very excited to see the Upper Twin Lakes School in its finished form. The Foundation expects the repairs to be complete by 2020. 

"It hasn't been altered or changed significantly, so it is very authentic and original to the way it was originally built, and that keeps it kind of like a time capsule," she said. "It keeps you back in that time period and helps people reconnect with that time period and how we lived."

In keeping with the traditions of yesteryear, the Twin Lakes Community Schoolhouse Foundation is hosting an ice cream social from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the school, 10017 W. Twin Lakes Road, near Rathdrum. The social will include games and kids activities, a beer and wine garden and other fun while raising funds for the schoolhouse. It is free and open to the public.

Info: www.twinlakesidaho.org