In 1881, Stony Creek’s District 8 schoolhouse in Madison County stood on the land of Daniel McClintock. At the southwestern corner of County Road 200 and County Road 700, it was near the community of Bruin Post Office1. The post office at Bruin only lasted until 18842, but the school survived. By 1903, it had been relocated to the northeastern side of the intersection3.
Many early schoolhouses served as community centers, and the District 8 school was no different4. The schoolhouse closed in 1925 in order to send its students to Lapel. Two years later, the abandoned building was sold via trustee’s auction to Quinter Bevers for $4005.
Today, the schoolhouse is a home. Although its brick walls have been covered in siding6, the building’s still identifiable as a schoolhouse based on its layout, the distance between its windows to its eaves, and its location on old plat maps.
Sources Cited
1 Kingman Brothers. (1880). History of Madison County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Chicago, IL. McTurnan, L. (1900). Handbook For The Teachers of Madison County. Madison County, Indiana. Anderson, IN.
2 “Madison County”. Jim Forte Postal History. Web. Retrieved 12/21/21.
3 Steele, O.C. (1903). Madison County. Oliver C. Steele [Spiceland]. Map.
4 Republican Meetings For This Week (1914, October 13). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 6.
5 Five Rural Schools Near Lapel Are Sold (1927, July 15). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 6.
6 Jackson, S.T. (personal communication, August 20, 2021). discusses Madison County’s Stony Creek Township schoolhouses
