The community of Shideler sprung up in Delaware County around 1870 when the Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati Railroad was extended through the area. Isaac Shideler, a railroad promotor, opened a store and post office near the station1. As a kid, I was told my family was distantly related to those Hamilton Township fellers, but I’ve been unable to corroborate that as an adult.
The community of Shideler straddles the line dividing Hamilton and Union townships, and a school was established in 1880 to serve students from both areas2. The following year, Sarah Shideler deeded the land for the school at Lot 4 in Block 6 to the Hamilton School Township3, and a schoolhouse was quickly built to serve a new District 11 with Robert Stafford as its first teacher4. In 1885, a brick school immediately east of the first building was put up on lot 35. That’s the structure that still stands today.
By 1898, the school at Shideler was graded and known as Hamilton Township’s District 96. The following year, township officials began consolidating its schools with plans to combine all of them -aside from District 3 and District 9 at Shideler- into a larger building at Royerton7.
Shideler was the only schoolhouse yet to consolidate into Royerton after the District 3: Gerrard school closed at the end of the 1915-16 school year8. The school finally closed at the end of the 1922-23 school year. James Dragstrem of Eaton was the final teacher there9.
In 1946, Arlie Beeler of Shideler reported to Muncie Star columnist Dick Greene that an old “Quaker school building [stood] next door to his home10.” I haven’t been able to find out whether the structure Beeler mentioned was the District 11 schoolhouse or a different place.
Sources Cited
1 Kemper, G. W. H. (1908). Education in Delaware County. In A Twentieth Century History of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume 1. book, Lewis Publishing Company.
2 A view of the schools. (1880, March 30). The Muncie Daily Times. p. 2.
3 Delaware County, Indiana. (1881 October 23). Deed Book 49. p. 255.
4 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.
5 Truitt, W. (1871, December 29). Shideler. Delaware County Office of Information & GIS Services. plat map, Muncie, IN.
6 Ellis, J. S. (1898, August 17). Our County. Its History and Early Settlement by Townships. The Muncie Morning News. p. 6.
7 The consolidating of Delaware County schools progresses (1903, June 28). The Muncie Morning Star. P. 9.
8 Delaware County Public Schools. (1916). School directory, Delaware County public schools, Delaware County, Indiana 1916-1917. Muncie, IN.
9 Delaware County Public Schools. (1923). School directory, Delaware County public schools, Delaware County, Indiana 1923-1924. Muncie, IN.
10 Greene, D. (1946, March 27). Seen and Heard in Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star Press. p. 6.
