In 1863, John T. Ray granted a portion of his land on County Road 900-North to the Trustee of Niles Township to build a schoolhouse1. By 1881, the District 9 school was commonly known as the Smith school. It was taught by Eva Thomas2. The land the schoolhouse sat on was just south of 380 acres owned by Benjamin F. Smith, which is probably how it got its name3
In 1887, Sophia L. and George R. Lowe granted a portion of their land to the Niles School Township for $60 in order to construct a replacement schoolhouse for District 94. A new building was erected shortly after and, confusingly, it took their name as well.Â
The Smith/Lowe schoolhouse closed with the rest of Niles Township’s one-room schools after the 1916-17 school year5. Its students were sent to Albany and, for a time, the empty building was used as a bus barn for Albany’s city schools, which were independent of Delaware Township’s6.
After its closure, the schoolhouse was used to store hogs and farm implements7. Today, the building appeared to be abandoned.
Sources Cited
1 Delaware County, Indiana. (1863 December 22). Deed Book 26. p. 127.
2 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.
3 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.
4 Delaware County, Indiana. (1887 June 25). Deed Book 58. p. 466.
5 Delaware County Public Schools. (1916). School directory, Delaware County public schools, Delaware County, Indiana 1916-1917. Muncie, IN.
6 Marks, M. (2006, March 31). Only one 19th-century Niles Township school is standing. The Muncie Star Press. p. 3C.
7 Profile. (2006. October 20). The Muncie Star Press. p. 4A.
