But soon the stone landmark at the corner of 198th and Evans Road will take on a new life.

A Lawrence couple, Ben McKay and Tara Wenger, purchased the former Edminster School last month, and plan to turn it into a home.

The property includes the building, which takes up about 940 square feet, and 4.24 acres, which is zoned rural residential.

Wenger said she and her husband were thrilled with their purchase.

“We’d always been interested in buying some land and building a house,” Wenger said. “We just thought the old schoolhouse was beautiful and we wanted to renovate it.”

Wenger’s husband is a commercial carpenter.

The couple, who have two young children, learned of the property through an advertisement that had been placed on the Internet.

Both Wenger and McKay had grown up in Lawrence and liked the area.

“We’d been looking a little bit at land and it seemed the best of both worlds,” Wenger said. “Almost like starting from scratch because it’s just a shell, and we thought the stone was so beautiful.”

And, Wenger said, they felt the building’s historical tug.

“We love having a place that has a sense of history,” she said. “We hope we can do it justice.”

Lifelong Tonganoxie resident Margaret Gallagher has lived a part of that history.

“I went to school there for six years,” said Gallagher.

In fact, Gallagher still has a photo of her class and teacher that was taken outside the north stone wall of the school in 1920. She’s one of the younger children standing on the first row. Though years and fire have taken a toll on the old school house, the walls have remained sound. In fact, when Gallagher’s photo is compared to the back wall of the school, the stones match.

Wenger said she and her husband plan to keep the schoolhouse area open, converting it primarily into a kitchen and living room. Then they’ll add bedrooms on the back.

The tall windows, each topped with a limestone arch, will remain.

“Those windows are so gorgeous,” Wenger said. “I’d like to have all that light coming into the whole place — keep it open.”

Other parts of the building appear to be original, such as the green chalkboard and the wainscoating beneath it that span the north wall.

Wenger said they’re eager to learn more about the history of their property.

“We’re both really excited about it and a little overwhelmed because of all the work we have ahead of us,” she said.