Many frame schoolhouses were erected in Adams Township during 1854, two years after a state law that allowed for the operation of free, common schools went into effect¹. In 1880, a frame District 1 schoolhouse was located on the land of Granville Ellison in Section 2 of Adams Township, just east of Sly Fork at what would later become West County Road 500-South².

The school was erected in a heavily-timbered site remote from other settlements; in 1880, there wasn’t so much as a dirt road leading to it³. For this reason, it was called Lost Woods⁴. Later, the school was known as Possum Glory⁵ likely due to the preponderance of wildlife in the area⁶!

The schoolhouse I took a picture of was built in 1886⁷ about half of a mile east of the original building. In 1922, the state board of health issued orders condemning the schoolhouse as unsanitary, along with five others in Adams Township⁸. That year, the school at Markleville was expanded and remodeled⁹. A new, consolidated school called Fall Creek Heights opened in 1928¹⁰ and it appears as though the District 1 school, along with Districts 2, 3, and 5, were abandoned at that time¹¹.

Today, the District 1 schoolhouse is a dwelling but Possum’s Glory is one of the best schoolhouse names I’ve ever come by.

Sources Cited
1 Forkner, J. (1914). History of Madison County Indiana. A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests, Volume 1. book, The Lewis Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
2 Kingman Brothers. (1880). History of Madison County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Chicago, IL.
3 (See footnote 2).
4 Bock, G. (1970, October 29). Adams Township Had Ten School Districts. Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 4.
5 Phillips, V.B. (1975, July 27). ‘Brush, Swamp’ Days Recalled. The Anderson Herald. p. 11.
6 Jackson, S. T. (2018, June 10). Of Lost Woods, Poley Walk and other odd place names . The Herald Bulletin. Web. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
7 Madison County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2021). Parcel ID: 48-13-02-400-001.000-001
8 Condemns Six Adams Township School Buildings (1922, April 14). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.
9 Bock, G. (1969, June 3). This is Year of Last Good Bye for Markleville H.S.. Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 4.
10 School Terms to Close Next Week (1928, April 14). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 1.
11 Plat Book of Madison County Indiana (n.d.) W. W. Hixson & Co. Rockford, IL. map. Map Collection, Indiana Division, Indiana State Library.