The T.C. Walker and Woodville/Rosenwald School Foundation is closing in on a fundraising goal that will allow the group to purchase and restore historic Woodville School on Route 17 at Ordinary.

The foundation previously reached a deal with the Gloucester Economic Development Authority to buy the property with a July 23 deadline.

“We are close to that objective and expect to meet it by the anticipated closure date,” said Director Dr. Wesley Wilson. The historic school and surrounding parcel will cost the foundation $50,000.

Built in 1921, Woodville remained a school for roughly two decades before being sold to a developer who converted it to a residence, Wilson stated. The Stubbs family resided there for 40 years, when it was purchased and used as antique storage and subsequently deemed a historic property. The EDA acquired it in 2012 and created the T.C. Walker and Woodville/Rosenwald School Foundation “to act as stewards and developers of the property.&rdqu...