FRANKLIN, In. — Turning a piece of history into a place to call home. That is the mission of one family in Franklin.

Their efforts to turn a 100-year-old schoolhouse into their family home have garnered millions of views on social media.

Stacie Grissom and her husband are from Franklin but relocated to the East Coast for the last decade for work.

When they decided to move back to the Midwest, they told their realtor they wanted a house with some personality, but they ended up with so much more than that.

Union Joint Grade School number 9, or at least that is what it was called when the two-story, 91-hundred-square-foot brick building was built in Franklin in 1914.

Soon, children will be running through the halls again. 

“I was always aware of the school and thought it would be the coolest house and just never dreamed that it could be our house,” said Homeowner Stacie Grissom.

Grissom and her husband decided to move back to Franklin after spending 10 years in New York City. When discussing the move, they told their realtor they wanted something unique.

“The email subject line that he sent me, I think he thought this was too quirky, but this was the perfect amount of quirky,” said Grissom.

The couple purchased the home without seeing it in person, trusting the videos their families sent them from across the country.

In its 109-year lifespan, this building has been home to a school, farm animals, apartments, and now Grissom and her family.

“Our families have valued taking old things and keeping them alive, and so I think this is just that on a grand scale and sometimes terrifying,” said Grissom.

The house needed extensive renovations to be brought into the modern century. 

They took it down to the studs, replaced the roof, installed new windows, added framing, and even plumbing.

While the home still has much of its original charm and architecture, for it to become inhabitable, most of the original finishes inside have had to be replaced.

“We are trying to add back a few things into the school to honor its history,” said Grissom.

One element was able to be saved that Grissom says will make for great dinner party conversation, “I am curious once we take the paint off of the floors, I think there is going to be some like stains from animals in there which is an interesting thing to have on your living room, story of the living room floor.”

Initially, the top floor, which is 45 hundred square feet, is where the family will live. They have converted classrooms into kids’ bedrooms and a primary suite for the parents. 

Their kitchen will replace the room that used to house chicken coops.

Then, later, they will finish the lower level of the home, creating apartments for the in-laws with the remaining 4 thousand square feet.

 “One of the things we are super excited about is this can handle a lot of grandkids and some big family parties. So that was part of the vision as well,” said Grissom.

The family is leaning into the home’s history, even designing merch that says things like “Union joint track club” with a turkey mascot on it.

Grissom hopes to have the home done, and her family moved in by the holidays.