Perry Township’s first District 8 schoolhouse stood on the land of William A. Jordan at the southeast corner of today’s South County Road 700-East and East County Road 700-South¹. Nothing remains of that structure today. 

In 1876, John Lindsey granted land for a brick schoolhouse on what’s now the northeast corner of East County Road 575-South and South County Road 800-East². By 1881, classes at District 8 were taught by Robert Lindsey³, who lived about half of a mile south of the structure⁴. 

The schoolhouse became Delaware County’s first consolidated school during the fall of 1898, when the seven students who attended District 7 were sent there by wagon. The combination was experimental, with no attempt made at grading the school or officially consolidating the districts⁵. 

During the fall of 1902, Districts 7 and 8 -along with 2 and 6- filed a petition to consolidate into District 9 at the center of Perry Township. The request was granted, and the three schoolhouses closed⁶. 

Today, the old District 8 schoolhouse is a home.

Sources Cited
1 Kingman, A.L. (1874). Map of Delaware County, Indiana : from recent & original surveys, made expressly for this map, drawn, compiled and published by A.L. Kingman and assistants. map, Chicago, IL; A.L. Kingman.
2 Delaware County, Indiana. (1876 April 13). Deed Book 40. p. 486.
3 Helm, T. B. (1881). Mount Pleasant Township. In History of Delaware County, Indiana: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. book, Kingman Brothers.
4 Griffing, B. N. (1887). An atlas of Delaware County, Indiana. map, Philadelphia, PA; Griffing, Gordon, & Company.
5 Kemper, G. W. H. (1908). Education in Delaware County. In A Twentieth Century History of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume 1. book, Lewis Publishing Company.
6 (See footnote 5).