An old schoolhouse just has to be prominent in order for the road it sits on to be named after it. After more than a century, Duck Creek Township’s old Reeder School still stands at the southeast corner of Indiana State Route 13 and the Reeder School Road, also known as West County Road 1400-North. Though it’s been covered in siding, its t-shaped layout is still identifiable as a schoolhouse: originally, it featured a central entry hallway flanked by two cloakrooms that led into the classroom. 

The Reeder school got its name from Benjamin Reeder, on whose land it was originally constructed¹. Many early schoolhouses served as places for the surrounding community to congregate, and the Reeder School was no exception: it held many Farm Bureau and Farmers’ Association meetings². By 1949, only three schools still existed in Duck Creek Township- Leisure, Reeder, and College Corner. Students from across the township were all bused to Reeder, where first- and second-graders stayed for classes. Third, fourth, and fifth-grade students went on to Leisure, while seventh and eighth-graders were sent to College Corner³.

The Reeder school shut down in 1949, a year before the schools at Leisure and College Corner closed in order for their students to attend the new Duck Creek-Boone Township Consolidated School⁴. The old school was sold in 1952⁵. Since then, it has been a dwelling. 

Sources Cited
1 Kingman Brothers. (1880). History of Madison County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Chicago, IL.
2 Duck Creek Farm Bureau Meets at Reeder School (1942, April 20). The Elwood Call-Leader. 
3 Leisure organized around saw mill. (1976, July 3). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. C-12.
4 New School For Duck Creek And Boone Townships. (1949, September 7). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 1.
5 Three Schools In Duck Creek Township To Be Sold April 26 (1952, April 3). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 1.