Center Township’s District 8 school, known as Clay College, was dedicated in 18801. It was replaced by a two-story frame building known as Forest Park that sat on West Eighth Street near South Rochester Drive in Muncie. Unfortunately, the schoolhouse soon became overcrowded and unsanitary. It was condemned several times before it finally closed2.
The oldest four-room portion of the extant Forest Park school was built in 1914 for nearly $11,0003. At some point, the building was renamed Wilson Elementary, but reverted back to the Forest Park moniker after a larger Wilson Junior High was erected nearby. At a cost of $30,000, the building was expanded to the south in 1939.
Partially funded by the WPA, Forest Park’s 1939 addition was two stories and consisted of three classrooms and a gym4. Twelve years later, another project added a T-shaped single-story wing with five more classrooms, two kindergarten rooms, a clinic, and restrooms5.
Along with Riley Elementary and McKinley Middle School, Forest Park Elementary was shuttered in 19846. That year, the Willard Street Separate Baptist Church purchased the building for $15,0007.
Forest Park has served as the Muncie Delaware County Senior Center since 1993. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places last year.
Sources Cited
1 Clay College (1880, December 29). The Muncie Morning News. p. 4.
2 Circulate Petition For New Building (1913, February 27). The Muncie Star. p. 1
3 Award Contract For Forest Park School (1914, August 14). The Muncie Star. p. 12.
4 Dedication Exercises For Community Room And Gym At Forest Park School Are Tonight (1939, June 2). The Muncie Star. p. 12.
5 Maxwell, C. (1951, February 9). Forest Park Plan Also Gets The Go-Sign. The Muncie Star. p. 9.
6 Metzger, J. (1984, January 18). Forest Park Parents Upset by Proposal to Close School. The Muncie Star. p. 6.
7 Terhune, K. (1984, October 24). Willard Baptist Church buys Forest Park School for $15,000. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 2.
