Philadelphia became the first town to be established in Sugar Creek Township when it was platted by Charles Atherton on April 11, 1838. By the 1870s, it was an important stop on the railroad with a sawmill, grist mill, and grain elevator. Serving District 1, the first brick schoolhouse in the township was was completed in 18731.
By 1882, Sugar Creek Township was home to eight schoolhouses, including Philadelphia, where Charles Rennecamp and Addie Wright served as teachers2.
The present schoolhouse was built in 1891. Two of its teachers, John Felt and George Richmond, later became well known in Hancock County as a judge and a Superintendent of Schools, respectively3.
In 1925, the building briefly became Hancock County’s last rural school when the Willow Branch schoolhouse in Brown Township was shuttered4. The Philadelphia school closed for good the following year5.
The building wasn’t idle for long. In 1936, two hundred area residents attended its dedication as the Philadelphia Community Center6 after locals raised $400 for materials for the conversion, which was completed thanks to $600 of PWA labor7.
After its years as a community center, the building was converted into a home8. In 1982, the land the schoolhouse sat was rezoned from residential to business9 to allow the building to house Bullock’s Auction. Today, the old District 1 schoolhouse is again a home.
Sources Cited
1 Richmond, G. (1916). History of Hancock County, Indiana Its People, Industries and Institutions. Wm. Mitchell Printing Company [Greenfield]. Book.
2 Binford, J. (1882). History of Hancock County, Indiana. King & Binford [Greenfield]. Book.
3 Skvarenina, J. (2021, September 17). Back in Time. The Greenfield Daily Reporter. p. A6.
4 Last School Except One (1925, November 17). The Greenfield Daily Reporter. p. 1.
5 (See footnote 3).
6 Formally Open Phila Center (1936, May 14). The Greenfield Republican. p. 1.
7 To Formally Open Community House (1936, October 1). The Greenfield Republican. p. 6.
8 (See footnote 3).
9 Sugar Creek 160-unit condo approved (1982, December 18). The Greenfield Daily Reporter. p. 10.
