The Schoolhouse Estate

The Schoolhouse Estate A former Iowa schoolhouse transforming into a place for meaningful celebration + community. A wedding venue + community space. We’re happy you’re here!
(16)

07/17/2026

Turns out simple hits different.

Just a tent in the Iowa air, people you love too loud together, and a night that doesn’t need staging to feel like something worth remembering.

Simple doesn’t mean less. It just means you can actually feel it.

Videography by Iowa Wedding & Midwest Photog

Well... we weren't expecting that.If we're being honest, I almost didn't post about the estimates. In fact, I texted my ...
07/08/2026

Well... we weren't expecting that.

If we're being honest, I almost didn't post about the estimates. In fact, I texted my sister-in-law and said, "I didn't even want to share this because I don't like admitting we can't do something or that we might need help." Anyone else hate that feeling?

Turns out, honesty has a funny way of bringing people together. This whole thing just became a class project!

Instead of seeing a setback, thousands of you saw something different.

You saw a school that meant something to you.
A place where your parents met.
Where your grandparents graduated.
Where you attended a fish fry.
A staple landmark in the community.
And most recently, attended a party on the lawn.

And many of you asked the same question:
"How can we help?"

The truth is, this is our investment, and we're committed to restoring this old school ourselves. We never expect anyone else to fund our dream. But what we've realized this building doesn't just belong to us. It belongs to a century of stories.

So we've decided to create ways for anyone who wants to be part of its next chapter.
Some involve giving.
Some just involve showing up.
Because this project has always been bigger than construction.
It's about bringing people together again.

Here's what's coming...
📸 August: Back-to-School Mini Sessions at the school (15-minute sessions by yours truly, Lori from Le Photo Design!)

🎬 September: Movie on the Lawn (We're looking for a local business that would like to sponsor the movie licensing.)

🏈 October: Homecoming on the Lawn! Live music, food trucks, yard games... and yes... a bar. 😅 (We learned our lesson.) Tell us your favorite local food trucks!

🎄 Late November / Early December: Christmas at the School! Photos with Santa, a holiday vendor market, and plenty of Christmas magic. (If you're a vendor—or know someone who'd make a great Santa—we'd love to hear from you!)

And for those who've been asking if there's a way to help right now...There is.

We've officially launched The Roll Call.

Whether you restore a gym window, help bring back the original gym floor, join our Varsity Team, or simply make a gift of any size...

You're helping write the next chapter of this school's story.

We even created a few fun school-themed perks along the way.
Because if we're going to do this...
We might as well lean all the way into it. 🏫

Check it out here: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/e2kXu0

Thank you for believing in this old school.
Thank you for believing in small towns.
And thank you for reminding two people who were feeling pretty discouraged after opening that first contractor bid...
..that this place still matters.
That people are craving places to gather.
That history is worth preserving.
And that sometimes a dream becomes a community's story.

Because we're not taking this old school from the community.
We're restoring it for the community.

We said we’d be honest, so here it is.The estimates came back.And let’s just say… they were a little less Pinterest drea...
07/06/2026

We said we’d be honest, so here it is.

The estimates came back.

And let’s just say… they were a little less Pinterest dream board and a little more welcome to reality.

So, like any good class project, we’re moving into our next draft.

We’re focused on bringing the ground level back to life:
• Putting windows back in the gym
• Restoring the original gym floor
• Making the locker room bathrooms usable again
• Creating an office + bridal suite
• Replacing the 1921 septic system (because apparently they weren’t meant to… just drain into the ground and hope for the best)
• Fresh paint
• And yes—remediating the asbestos the internet was very sure we didn’t know about 😅

Also: a big tent.

Because sometimes the simplest celebration is just your favorite people, a little Iowa sky, and enough room to dance.

Here’s the honest part most people don’t post.

We got the first bid back right before our Party on the Lawn..and we were honestly a little bummed.

There were hard conversations. One of us may or may not have shed some tears. (We’ll let you decide how honest this caption really is.)

And then about 400–500 of you showed up that night (half kids running through the grass) and it reminded us why we said “yes.”

Because in the middle of all the numbers and plans, we were reminded of what this actually is.

A place people already love.
A place people are already showing up for.
A place that still matters.

And honestly… that meant more than we can express.

You’re getting a front row seat to two people figuring out a dream as it goes. Not perfectly. Not cleanly. Just honestly.

Many of you have asked how you can help preserve this place. We never expect anyone else to fund our dream, but we also know this building belongs to generations of memories, and many of you have shared that you’d love to leave your own mark on its next chapter.

If that’s you, send us a message.

Whether that’s through a donation in honor of someone special, sharing your memories, or simply following along…

Thank you for your investment.

Because we’re not taking this old school from the community..We’re restoring it for the community.

Now back to our regularly scheduled class project. 🏫

For 250 years, America has been writing its story.For the last 105 of them, this little school in rural Iowa has been pa...
07/04/2026

For 250 years, America has been writing its story.

For the last 105 of them, this little school in rural Iowa has been part of it.

These walls were built in 1921, just as America stepped into the Roaring Twenties.

They stood through the Great Depression, when families wondered how they’d make it to next harvest.

They watched former students leave these halls to serve in World War II.

They heard the news of Pearl Harbor.

They welcomed soldiers home.

They witnessed the excitement of the Space Race after Sputnik.

They grew quiet the day President Kennedy was assassinated.

They likely gathered around a television to watch the first footsteps on the moon.

History wasn’t happening somewhere else.

It was happening here, too.

In conversations between classes.
In school assemblies.
At basketball games.
During the Pledge of Allegiance each morning.
In the hopes and fears of ordinary people raising families in a small Iowa community.

This building has never been famous.

But it has always mattered.

Because America’s story has never belonged only to presidents, astronauts, or history books.

It belongs to small towns.
To teachers.
To farmers.
To kids running these hallways.

As we celebrate 250 years of America this Fourth of July weekend, we’re grateful to be caretakers of one small piece of that story—and committed to preserving it for the generations still to come.

Happy Independence Day. 🇺🇸

We’re just a couple from small-town Iowa who bought an old school……and apparently wandered into the algorithm because we...
07/01/2026

We’re just a couple from small-town Iowa who bought an old school…

…and apparently wandered into the algorithm because we gained 40,000 followers in a day.

Welcome.

You’ve arrived at a fascinating point in the story where we’re simultaneously restoring a 100-year-old school and discovering just how many people on the internet are structural engineers, commercial contractors, real estate investors, septic experts, historians, and financial advisors.

What a wildly talented group.

Some of you are here because you have memories of this school.

Some of you are here because your parents, grandparents, or kids walked these halls.

Some of you are here because you love old buildings.

Some of you are here because you can’t wait to see a wedding venue.

We appreciate you all!

(Mostly. The bankruptcy and divorce predictions could probably stay in the drafts instead of comment section.)

A few frequently asked questions:

“Did you know it had asbestos?”
Yes.

“Did you know it has lead paint?”
Also yes.

“Is it haunted?”
No.

“Will you put in an elevator?”
Yes.
If you’d like to sponsor it, we’ll happily name it after you.

“Are you going to make money doing this?”
Excellent question.
We’ll keep you posted.

We realize this project looks a little crazy from the outside.

Truthfully…

It looks a little crazy from the inside too.

We’re learning right alongside each other.
We’re celebrating the wins.
We’re sharing the setbacks.
Because pretending restoration is glamorous would be a bold-faced lie.

If you’re looking for perfectly curated renovation content…

This probably isn’t it.

If you’re looking for two people with a ridiculous amount of optimism, a questionable sense of humor, and an unhealthy belief that almost anything can be fixed…

Welcome.

You’re in the right place.

We can’t promise this project will go according to plan.

In fact, we can confidently say it already hasn’t.

But we can promise you’ll have a front-row seat as this old school slowly becomes something worth celebrating.

And if nothing else…

You’ll get sarcastic replies from Brad…
…and me deleting them before he hits “Post.”

We believe some of life’s most meaningful moments happen around tables, on dance floors, in heartfelt conversations, and...
06/29/2026

We believe some of life’s most meaningful moments happen around tables, on dance floors, in heartfelt conversations, and in the presence of the people we love the most.

We’re creating a place where marriages begin surrounded by the people who will walk beside you for years to come.

And we hope you remember how it felt.

The joy.
The laughter.
The prayers.
The hugs.
The conversations that lingered long after dinner.
The feeling of being fully present with your people.

This school has already held generations of stories.
Now, we’re honored to prepare it for generations more.
We truly can’t wait to welcome you here someday.

photos + videos by Iowa Wedding & Midwest Photog - except for the 1920 school image

Address

Minburn, IA

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