Read time: 6 min.

I love basketball and probably always will. Here in Indiana, it’s the perfect time to be a fan: the Fever just drafted Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark, and the Pacers just destroyed the Knicks in game four of the second round of the playoffs! Those are exciting developments, but what I like most about basketball is the history behind my state’s zealous participation in it. A trip to Richmond yesterday led me past three old high school gymnasiums just oozing with stories.

I’m a shy person who often doesn’t fit in. I think that’s why I’ve always been drawn to places where people once congregated. I find old high school gymnasiums particularly alluring. Gyms built from the 1930s through the fifties were real community centers. Entire towns came together to support their team! When I was in school, I played in a couple fantastic old gyms, including the one that stood in for Hickory Huskers in Hoosiers. Intimate gyms like that witnessed decades of victories and defeats that drew fans closer in pursuit of victory. I love them. 

From Muncie to Richmond, the first old gym in Wayne County sits on Poplar Street in Economy, just a couple doors north of US-35. The wood-frame gymnasium was built in 1922¹. That year, Fountain City won the inaugural Economy Invitational after the Economy Cardinals succumbed in the semifinals by a score of 25 to 14². 

The gym is unbelievably tiny, with a non-regulation court that measures only sixty-one feet long. On the east side, a wall marks the baseline. A stage on the western end of the building serves the same purpose. Players had to be pretty careful driving for a layup! Nevertheless, it served as the home court for the Cardinals until 1957, when the team began playing its home games at nearby Williamsburg³. 

Economy consolidated with Hagerstown in 1962⁴, but the gym continued to serve elementary students until the former Economy High School closed for good in 1971. The school was torn down two years later, but the detached gym still plays host to intramural leagues⁵.

Williamsburg sits five and a half miles southeast of Economy on US-35. A two-story brick consolidated school with a sunken gymnasium was built in 1923⁶. The basketball court originally stretched from north to south, but the building’s eastern wall was removed in 1953 to add more seating and reconfigure the court to span east and west⁷. 

Believe it or not, the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets were undefeated over twenty-four games in 1954, right up to the sectional championship in Richmond! Unfortunately, the home team blew them out by a score of 58 to 40⁸. Despite their near-undefeated season, Williamsburg never sniffed another sectional.

Williamsburg High School closed in 1967 after Northeastern Wayne Schools was established. The building served as an elementary until 1983⁹. Today, the former home of the Yellow Jackets is part of the bustling Williamsburg Community Center. 

The town of Webster sits another 4.5 miles southeast of Williamsburg. In 1909, a two-story schoolhouse with four classrooms, two halls, and a basement was completed for $10,721¹⁰. Forty years later, the building received a new gymnasium¹¹. The gym was dedicated on January 13, 1950, when, in front of 630 spectators, the Webster Pirates crushed nearby Huntsville by a score of 47 to 41¹².

In 1962, Webster students from grades 7-12 were sent to Williamsburg¹³ in the first of two consolidation waves that eventually created Northeastern¹⁴. Webster Elementary closed five years later. The newly-formed Webster Fire Department purchased the gymnasium from the school corporation in 1968¹⁵.

The fire brigade installed a wall across center court and closed the stage. After installing restrooms, a kitchen, and a drop ceiling, one side of the gym began its service as a firehouse. The other half retained its basketball goals so it could be used as a community center. The rest of the school was torn down shortly thereafter¹⁶. 

Aside from the three I visited, Wayne County’s home to more old high school gyms in Boston, Greens Fork, Richmond, and Whitewater. I’ve driven past all of them at one point or another, but I’ve never stopped to take a photo. Maybe I should! Old high school gyms are more than just buildings; they’re repositories of memories and shared experiences. As someone who sometimes struggles to connect with people at times, it’s no wonder they continue to call to me. 

Sources Cited
1 Engle, B. (1998, April 27). The paint goes on. The Richmond Palladium-Item. P. 3. 
2 Eades, R.C. (1922, December 24). Fountain City Seconds Win Invitational Meet In Economy Gymnasium. 
3 Neddenriep, K. (2010). Historic Hoosier Gyms: discovering bygone basketball landmarks. The History Press [Charleston]. Book. 
4 New School Bus Plan Adopted At Hagerstown To Trim Costs (1963, March 20). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 7. 
5 Truitt, J. (2019, April 12). What happened to Wayne County’s old high schools? The Richmond Palladium-Item. Web. Retrieved May 12, 2024. 
6 New Green Township School Will Provide Excellent Quarters (1923, March 24). The Richmond Palladium. p. 7. 
7 (See footnote 3).
8 Reynolds, D. (1954, February 23). New Sectional Attendance Mark Sure Here; Other Records May Be Written. The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 9. 
9 (See footnote 5).
10 Contract Is Let For New Webster School. (1909, May 27). The Richmond Item. p. 3.
11 Webster Announces Schedule Changes (1949, November 25). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 30. 
12 New Gym Dedicated (1950, January 15). The Richmond Palladium Item. 
13 Webster High School Pupils Transferred To Williamsburg (1962, July 3). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 2. 
14 New Schools, 5,000 More Pupils To Be Ready When Autumn Semester Begins (1967, August 24). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 17. 
15 Kovner, G. (1969, December 11). Gymnasium Houses Webster Fire Trucks. The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 19. 
16 (See footnote 15).