Although Richland Township’s brick College Corner schoolhouse was erected in 1884¹, an older District 4 schoolhouse, likely frame, sat on the land of J.H. Chambers at the southeast corner of College Corner Road and North County Road 100-East even earlier².

The District 4 schoolhouse was one of three that simultaneously bore the colloquial name of “College Corner” in Madison County³, but Richland Township’s was home to the county’s first graded schoolhouse. In fact, Madison County’s first rural graduation exercises were held at this College Corner schoolhouse in 1914⁴.

In 1939, Richland Township officials began planning a larger structure to allow the Center, Thornburg, Wesley Chapel, Moonville, Burton, and College Corner⁵ schoolhouses to consolidate into one building. That six-room school, also known as College Corner, was completed in 1950. The abandoned schoolhouses were auctioned off two years later⁶.

The modern school was expanded in 1958 in a project that added eight classrooms, a cafeteria, and a multipurpose room. In 1968, the modern school received third addition that consisted of an art room, kindergarten room, and general elementary classroom⁷.

The enlarged College Corner school, by then part of the Anderson Community School District, closed in 2005. Today, the old District 4 schoolhouse stands in ruins across the road.

Sources Cited
1 Jackson, S. T. (2019, March 1). What’s in a Name: The literal origin of Richland Township . The Herald Bulletin. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
2 Kingman Brothers. (1880). History of Madison County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Chicago, IL.
3 (See footnote 1).
4 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.
5 Bond Issue for New School was Given Approval (1939, March 11). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.
6 Notice of Sale of School Property (1952, July 22). The Anderson Herald. p. 14.
7 Okeh College Corner School $150,000 Expansion Project. (1967, July 15). The Anderson Herald. p. 1.