Nov 1, 2018 4 min read

An old, brick, one-room schoolhouse in Dilliner sits just across the road from the Wilson family, who took an interest in the vacated property.

The more Matt and Alison Wilson looked at the aged structure the more interested they became. So much so, they bought the schoolhouse at a tax sale for $10,000 in 2010.

While still sound and well-built, the abandoned building was in need of work. Some of the bricks needed to be repointed and the roof had minor leaks. The Wilsons got to work patching the roof to protect the building, repointed the bricks and put in new windows.

The restoration work really got underway in 2014 when they added a new roof, took out the woodwork, refinished it then put it back in place and renovated the interior. They also added a basement in back to house some machinery, and added first- and second-floor bedrooms.

“It was a pretty costly remodeling project, running around $300,000, which included new power lines, the addition and a septic system,” Matt said. “The place now looks really good.”

Originally, the Wilsons thought they’d rent out the renovated schoolhouse as a residence. But, after holding some family functions in the newly refurbished building, they began thinking of it as a rental space for events and meetings, and overnight lodging for people interested in exploring Greene County’s autumn foliage or families attending events at Waynesburg University, like graduations and homecomings.

“We envision that the schoolhouse will function more as an Airbnb instead of a traditional B and B,” Matt said.

Airbnb is an online community in which people can host spaces for overnight guests.

At the moment, the construction work is finished and the building is functional – save for hand rails and other elements to make it handicap-accessible. The Wilsons, however, are still awaiting the necessary permits to use it as a commercial space.

“I’d like to get all the necessary approvals in time for the Christmas holiday season,” Matt said. “Friends and family have already stayed in the schoolhouse as overnight guests.”

The main room is an open space that occupies the shell of the original schoolhouse. It has a full kitchen, tables and chairs. The bedrooms are furnished with beds, closets and dressers and come with a Jack and Jill bathroom with a shared shower downstairs.

When operational, the Wilsons plan to rent out the schoolhouse to one couple or family at a time.

The property on which the schoolhouse sits was deeded in 1892 from the Donley family for the purpose of building a school. The Wilsons believe that construction started almost immediately afterward. The property was later deeded to Bald Hill Church, but eventually was sold by the county to pay for delinquent taxes.

Matt, originally from Indiana, is a professor of animal science at West Virginia University while Alison, a native of upstate New York, is a professor in the university’s medical school. The couple met while serving as camp counselors in Indiana, but went their separate ways when Matt went to grad school and Alison headed off to medical school.

“I hadn’t talked to her in years, but when a friend and I decided to go to Austin, Texas, for the Millennial New Year, I phoned her because I knew she was attending medical school in Houston,” Matt said. “After a short visit, I returned to WVU where I was enrolled in a post-doctoral program, but we kept in touch.”

The following year, Alison visited Matt three times in Morgantown, where he joined the faculty in 2002. The couple got engaged, married in May of that year and moved into their current house in Dilliner where they continue to live with their two sons, Hank, 11, and Ben, 9.

For information on use of the schoolhouse for events or overnight lodging, call 304-376-3563.