MADISON, Neb. — With a rodeo, carnival, and concerts, the Madison County Fair offers many attractions for Nebraskans to visit.

However, a building with a long history offers a chance for fair goers to look back into the history of education in rural Nebraska.

The school called District 48, also known as the Good Cheer School, sits on the Madison County Fairgrounds after the building was moved there in 2011. 

“To me, it’s something to remember,” Sherri Fish, a Madison County Fair Board member, said.

Fish, who has been on the board for 34 years, said the school was in operation until 2008 and, after someone wanted to buy the land the school sat on, the fair board was asked if they wanted the building.

“We had the annual meeting and, a lot of people there, we asked what their thought would be,” Fish said. “And they all said, ‘Yes, it needs to come here.’”

Now, the 146-year-old building offers an open house during the fair for people to see how students in the past learned and what their days looked like.

“A lot of people remember schools like this, one room schools,” Fish said. “So they come to bring memories back to them.”

Fish said the YMCA brought students in groups to learn about the history and how children learned in the one room school on July 13.  

The Norfolk Veterans’ Home also brought a group out to the school and Fish said it was amazing to see both generations learn and interact with the artifacts of the past.

“It’s fun to see young kids come and sit in the chairs and the parents, you know, looking at everything and think, ‘Wow, you know, it is something.’” Fish said.

Fisher said the school holds antique desks, books, chalkboards, and pictures of classes from the past years.

As the Madison County Fair nears its end, Fish is already looking forward to next year and hopes to continue to show people the one room school.