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Couple turning Downey school into B&B
by Joanne Salemink, reporter · News · November 04, 2020
It’s been many years since students filed through the doors of the Downey School to learn the three “Rs” — reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmatic. The next time those doors open, visitors will find a fourth “R” — relaxation — waiting for them, thanks to Tim and Madonna Rex.
The couple, who can see the school building from their Downey home, began a few years ago renovating the building with plans to open the Back 2 School Bed and Breakfast Inn. When the makeover is complete, the building will include seven guest rooms with a communal dining room, as well as the Boiler Room Tap and Wine Cellar and a spa, which will both be open to the public.
While the couple purchased the 1905 building from the Iowa Grange Society in 2017, Tim Rex’s interest in the brick schoolhouse began long before that.
A West Branch native, Tim Rex said he remembers driving past the building with his grandfather, LaMar P. Foster. During those drives Foster would recall his days as a principal and teacher at the school in the 1920s. Foster later served in the Iowa House of Representatives.
Madonna said she was drawn to the schoolhouse in part because of her career as a teacher. She has taught for 34 years, most recently in the Cedar Rapids School District.
Both like the history of the building, a key to their interest in preserving it. The schoolhouse, which was constructed in 1905 in only four months, is one of the last of its time still standing in Cedar County, according to their research.
Saving history is important, Madonna said, but unfortunately, much of that history suffered extreme damage from exposure to the elements. Record books which had been stored in the basement under the stairwell are in extremely poor condition. Preserving those books is also on the “to-do” list.
It is thought that classes for 1st through 12th grade were held at the school for the first 20 years. After that, high school grades were moved to West Branch. The school closed in 1955.
The building was then purchased by the Wapsie Valley Grange Society and used for meetings. The last known grange meetings held there were in the 1970s.
Despite its age, the building is in relatively good shape. Before purchasing the building, Tim Rex said he consulted a structural engineer to assess if the building was sound. While the interior showed the effects of years of neglect, the exterior and interior walls and central staircase proved solid.
One of the Rex’s first renovation-related projects was to get the building listed on the National Park Service’s National Historic Register. To that end, they worked with an architectural historian from Cedar Rapids. As they compiled information about architectural significance of the building, they also heard from several local residents who had attended school there.
The building was placed on the Registry May 28, 2019. Placement on the registry will provide access to information and guidance regarding restoration, as well as incentives. The project will qualify for tax credits, but only for the final two years of the project, Tim Rex explained.
Restoration performed on registered buildings must also meet certain criteria. The Rex’s are using an early photo of the building’s exterior to guide that restoration, like installing a cupola which disappeared somewhere along the way, and single-paned, mullioned windows.
Inside, the central staircase and hallways will retain their general appearance, transporting guests back in time.
Not even this remodeling project has been able to escape challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has caused a general slow-down in the hospitality industry, which has made lenders concerned about the status of existing loans and leery of taking on new projects, Tim said.
The couple recently started a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign: www.gofundme.com/f/downey-school-renovations
In addition, construction of the cupola was delayed because members of the contractor’s crew caught the virus, putting them behind schedule.
While reaction to the pandemic slowed their progress in some ways it also worked in their favor, the couple said. Madonna explained that they had always planned for a late-summer or fall completion date, to take advantage of the increased traffic of Hoover’s Hometown Days and University of Iowa football games. They point out that if they had been able to open this current fall, the continuing slump and uncertain future of tourism may have hindered their ability to generate enough revenue to make loan payments.
“It was originally a five-year plan (for completion), then three,” said Madonna. “Now it looks like a four-year plan.”
The couple has done a lot of work, but they acknowledge they still have a long way to go. They said they plan to use local contractors whenever possible, but are also relying on companies who have more experience working on old buildings, particularly buildings on the National Register.
Already they have replaced the roof and eaves, and have repaired a section of flooring which sustained water damage. Additional support has been added to the roof in preparation for the cupola. A storage building was erected near the school, which can also be used as a garage or for other needs. Tuckpointing has begun on the interior of the limestone foundation. However, tuckpointing on the exterior brick walls has been delayed while they search for bricks to match the lighter color and smaller size of the originals.
Inside the building, the Rex’s removed many years’ worth of debris, along with a pair of large boilers from the basement. A few of the ornate, wrought-iron desks remain, although they were in very poor condition. Madonna said she hopes they will be able to salvage some of the parts to use in a decorative manner, perhaps as nightstands.
While there was some vandalism, it was mostly limited to a few instances of graffiti and some missing coat hooks. The walnut staircase is solid, and although a portion of the railing on the second floor was removed it had not been taken from the building. In many places, the decorative, painted stenciling can still be seen.
The couple hopes to begin work on a new well, septic tank, geothermal installation, electrical wiring and windows before this winter.
Until the bell rings, once again welcoming visitors to the brick school house, dedicated scholars can do their homework by following the Rex’s repair work on the Downey School Renovations Facebook page.
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Back 2 School B&B features
When completed, the Back 2 School Bed and Breakfast Inn will feature:
• Seven upscale rooms including steam showers (some with saunas)
• The Downey Room will include a unique wooden soaking tub built in Maine especially for the inn
• Geothermal heating
• Solar panels to supplement electrical use
• The Boiler Room Tap and Wine Cellar will feature Iowa craft beers and wines, and provide a performance venue for area musicians.
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A brief history of Downey School
• The Downey School was built in just four months, opening in January 1905, the same time a new school building opened in West Branch. Updates from the “Downey News” feature in the West Branch Times included:
• June 1, 1905 — “Of Local Interest” — Our neighboring town of Downey is making arrangements to erect a fine new school building in the near future.
Walter Mackey came up from Downey yesterday. He says that the people of his school district expect to build a new school building in the near future. The new building will in probability be of brick and will be a modern structure in all respects.
• June 15, 22, July 6 1905 — Notice to contractors bids let — Architect J.G. Ralston, Waterloo; Board of Independent School District of Downey, Iowa
• July 13, 1905: The contract for the new school building at Downey was not let on the 7th as advertised. Some bids were opened and the board decided that owning to a lack of sufficient money to complete a building such as was considered necessary that they would reject all bids and call another election and vote larger bonds. It is to be hoped that they may make the bonds high enough this time to cover the expense of building as well as furnishing it in an up-to-date manner.
• July 20, 1905 — The contract for the new school building at Downey was let on Wednesday of last week. Mr. Frank Chapman was the lucky man among three bids. He is a resident of Waterloo and comes highly recommended as a reliable builder.
• Aug. 3, 1905: The stone masons are laying the foundation for the new school building. We are glad to see the work progressing so well, as the time is short till the building will be used.
• Aug 31, 1905 — meeting of the Downey school board at Wm Felkner’s office
• Sept. 21, 1905 — Wm Brisbine of Downey was in town on Friday of last week. He says their new school building is progressing nicely and will likely be completed in time for the winter term of school at least and perhaps sooner.
The school seems to have attracted little fanfare in the Times when it was opened, other than this mention by the Downey correspondent:
• Jan. 4, 1906 — Elizabeth Mountain, Edith Cornwall and Ida Theile were visitors at the schoolhouse on New Year’s Day. Charlie Heald has been kept out of school for the past week by chickenpox.
• June 21, 1906 — Of Local Interest: The Downey school closed on Friday of last week with a picnic and a ball game between the school teams of West Branch and Downey which resulted in a victory for Downey by a score of 0 to 12.
But as Downey had the assistance of several of West Liberty’s players, together with a very poor umpire, the West Branch contingent felt that they did quite well.
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