The first White River Township District 1 schoolhouse at Aroma, is said to have been a wood-frame structure with logs for seats¹. Evidently, the school was a two-room structure, with a primary instructor responsible for students in grades 1-4 and a principal responsible for pupils in the upper grades, 5-8².

In 1917, it was replaced with the extant structure under the tenure of Township Trustee Roy Foust³. By 1938, the school still operated as a two-room elementary school, but it closed the following year when all of White River Township’s students were sent to attend a new, consolidated school six miles southwest at Walnut Grove⁴. 

Along with the township’s Strawtown school, the schoolhouse at Aroma was advertised for sale in July, 1939⁵. Layton Johnson, a prominent local citizen who owned the surrounding seventy-six, purchased the building the following September⁶. 

Situated to the north and connected to 281st Street via a wide, paved path, Johnson used the old schoolhouse as a livestock center over the ensuing decades⁷. Today, the building is still being used as part of the town’s grain elevator, now operated by Johnson Grain Farms after several changes in ownership. Aside from a portion of building’s hipped roof that’s still visible, additions to the north and south, along with new siding, have obscured the old building in such a manner that makes it impossible to identify as a schoolhouse. The section of building pictured underneath the grain silo is the original structure.

Sources Cited
1 Guthrie, W. (1951, February 1). Sweet Forest Aroma Gave Town Its Name. The Indianapolis News. p. 11.
2 Hamilton County Public Schools (1915). Teacher’s directory: names and addresses of officers and teachers of Hamilton County Public Schools, 1915-1916. Noblesville, IN.
3 Greene, D. (1977, November 11). Seen and Heard in Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star. p. 4.
4 Guthrie, W. (1951, February 1). Sweet Forest Aroma Gave Town Its Name. The Indianapolis News. p. 11.
5 Notice of Sale of Property Not Used for School Purposes (1939, July 25). The Noblesville Ledger. p. 2.
6 Roberson, L. (1939, September 6). Aroma. The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 5.
7 Peters, R. (1949, May 5). Aroma: A Community With Substantial Citizenry. The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 7.