It may not look like it, but the Madison County Historian told me that the house at County Roads 700-West and 1400-North was Duck Creek Township’s old District 1 schoolhouse. He’d consulted with the building’s owners, and that’s enough for me.
Duck Creek Township represents some of Madison County’s most rural areas, and the District 1 schoolhouse is hard to spot unless you already know its provenance. In 1874, the township was home to six schools valued at $2,5001. By 1880, Duck Creek’s schoolhouses were worth $3,0002! One of those early institutions served the township’s District 1. Built on land deeded to the township by the Waymire family3, the schoolhouse sat about a mile east of Waymire Cemetery.
The first schoolhouse was replaced by a brick building sometime before 1901. Situated on land owned by A.H. Clark4, it served as a local event center, often hosting farmers’ meetings5 and civic gatherings6.
Despite its new association with the Clark family, the schoolhouse retained its common name of Waymire. In 1926, the rural schools of Duck Creek Township temporarily closed when their pupils were conveyed to Elwood. All of them, including District 1, returned to service in 1928 after renovations were completed7.
The schoolhouse was open as late as 19348 and even appeared on a 1936 highway map of Madison County9. It closed for good sometime prior to 1939, when the township listed it for sale along with the former District 5: Dickey schoolhouse10.
If the Madison County Historian is correct, the schoolhouse was significantly remodeled after it was sold. Today, it barely resembles an old school11. Nevertheless, the structure is currently used as a home.Â
Sources Cited
1 Harden, S. (1874). History of Madison County, Indiana, from 1820 to 1874. book. Markleville, IN.
2 Kingman Brothers. (1880). History of Madison County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Chicago, IL.
3 (See footnote 2).
4 Atlas and Directory of Madison County, Indiana (1901). The American Atlas Company. Cleveland. map.
5 Duckcreek Farmers Meeting. (1920, January 24). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 5.
6 Notice of Meeting (1931, July 28). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 5.
7 September 3rd Opening Day in Rural Schools (1928, July 7). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.
8 Start Signup (1934, February 5). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 3.
9 Map of Madison County (1936). Indiana Highway Survey Commission. Map Collection, Indiana Division, Indiana State Library.
10 Public Sale of School Properties. (1939, March 2). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 7.
11 Jackson, S. T. (2021, August 9). Madison County schoolhouses. email.
