It’s always good to see a community caring about itself enough to preserve its history.

Just take a look at many of the communities throughout Carbon County.

Down in Weissport, they’ve done an incredible job preserving and promoting the canals that carried black gold from the region’s coal mines to markets in Philadelphia and eventually the world.

In Lansford, there’s the No. 9 Mine that offers a look at the way many of our ancestors supported families.

And Jim Thorpe’s rich history has transformed the borough into a magnet for tourism and commerce, adding to the allure of the resting place of the man royalty once called the “Greatest Athlete in the World.”

Railroads that once ferried people all over the nation are reinventing themselves, promoting the era of steam engines and bringing thousands annually to the borough.

Lately, those tracks have reached Nesquehoning and are beginning to bring hundreds to the borough for excursions that offer the experience of a one-time thriving mode of transportation.

Trails now occupy the routes that used to carry those tracks. The Delaware and Lehigh gives enthusiasts the chance to walk or bike in nature from Wilkes-Barre to our north to Bristol, near Philadelphia — with stops along away in places like Lehighton and Rockport.

These are just a few of the ways history is and has been alive and well throughout the region.

Perhaps the latest example came when officials in Weatherly announced firm plans to restore and repurpose a tarnished jewel of their borough.

State Sen Dave Argall, R-29, and state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-122, joined borough officials to announce $2.2 million in state funding toward an $11.3-million affordable housing project at the former C.M. Schwab School.

The funding will assist the Alliance for Building Communities, a nonprofit organization, in transforming the building into 30 apartments for the community.

Weatherly Borough took ownership of the building a little more than seven years ago after attempts by various groups to maintain the aging structure proved unsuccessful.

Last used as a school in June 1991, an out-of-state buyer purchased the building from Weatherly Area School District six years later.

Aging and neglected, the old school was back on the market in 2017. A volunteer group purchased the building and transferred ownership to the borough.

Built on land donated by Weatherly native William Brown, steel magnate Charles Schwab authorized construction of the building as a gift to the community where his bride, the former Eurana Dinkey, was born.

Summit Hill contractor Andrew Breslin began work in 1901, and used local-fired bricks and red stone from nearby Rockport and White Haven. The same stone is visible today at the Carbon County Courthouse.

An estimated 10,000 people turned out for dedication ceremonies in September 1903.

Schwab credited the community with doing the bulk of the work, explaining that all he did was sign the checks.

Back then, the gift set off a groundswell of pride.

And now, the community will again be involved in the building’s rebirth.

The project will receive $858,232 in funding from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and about $1.1 million in tax credits from the agency. Another $250,000 in demolition funds from Carbon and Schuylkill counties will pay to raze the school annex adjacent to the original building to provide parking.

The remaining $9.1 million to create 18 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments will come from private investments and donations — collective gifts, in a sense, that might be compared to the generosity of the Schwabs.

The ABC is no stranger to building and investing in communities. Argall has worked with the group in Tamaqua, Jim Thorpe and White Haven.

Construction is expected to begin in about a year.

Local leaders praised the project, emphasizing its importance in fostering pride.

Using old buildings in new ways pulls an already a tight-knit community closer together.

In Weatherly, restoring and repurposing the C.M. Schwab School is a rallying point for townspeople, just as it was some 100 years ago.

Charles and Eurana would be proud, too.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 40 years’ experience in community journalism. Reach him at tneditor@tnonline.com.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.