A school at Starr’s Corner was first established in 1863. That year, John Sullivan taught classes in a log cabin. Later, the structure was designated to serve District 7 from the northwest corner of an E. Deadman’s farm a mile north of Alexandria1. The log cabin was eventually dismantled in order to erect a frame building, but the final schoolhouse was brick2.
The Starr schoolhouse closed on Friday, September 30, 1938 after the consolidated Cunningham school opened on the site of District 5, absorbing the students of eleven districts3. A community dinner was held as a farewell to the schoolhouse4.
Today, the building -recently added to- is a home. The asymmetrical layout of the schoolhouse makes it difficult to locate from a home-sleuth’s Google Maps perspective. It’s been painted since I took this photo.
Sources Cited
1 Kingman Brothers. (1880). History of Madison County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Chicago, IL.
2 Plan for Big Time (1913, July 29). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.
3 Holtsclaw, S. (2006, May 17). After 68 years, Cunningham Elementary School says goodbye to Alexandria. The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.
4 Farewell Dinner to be Held at Starr School (1938, September 27). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 2.
