A frame schoolhouse stood at the southeast corner of College Corner Road and County Road 100-East in Madison County’s Richland Township as early as 18801. A brick replacement, still standing in ruins, was built four years later2. After nearly seventy years of service, it was replaced by a modern building that’s also been forgotten by progress.
The 1884 brick College Corner School was the first school in Madison County to hold rural graduation exercises3. It was a cutting-edge structure back then, but one-room schools were old-hat by 1942. That year, Richland Township was home to four of them. Teachers at College Corner, Moonville, Center, and Thornburg taught a total of 149 students4. It wasn’t enough to subsist.
Officials began planning a consolidated school in 1939, but nothing came of it5. Fortunately, a new, six-room College Corner school was completed in 19506. Five years later, Richland and Union Townships combined forces to build a new high school, Highland, to absorb grades seven and eight from the packed College Corner grade school and several others nearby.
The modern College Corner building received an eight-classroom addition, along with a cafeteria and multipurpose room, in 19587. Six years later, a $150,000 expansion added an art room, kindergarten room, and a general elementary classroom8.
College Corner joined the Anderson Community School Corporation in 1971. Four years later, the district completed a $1.2 million elementary school, Killbuck, to alleviate congestion there9. The modern College Corner school closed in 2005, and Killbuck followed a few years later.
Today, the old College Corner Elementary School is owned by a private party. It was home to a basketball academy and insurance agency last I checked.
Sources Cited
1 Kingman Brothers. (1880). History of Madison County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Chicago, IL.
2 Jackson, S. T. (2019, March 1). What’s in a Name: The literal origin of Richland Township . The Herald Bulletin. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
3 Forkner, J. (1914). History of Madison County Indiana. A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests, Volume 1. book, The Lewis Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
4 Rural School Enrollment is Almost 5,000 (1942, October 2). The Alexandria Times-TRibune. p. 1.
5 Bond Issue for New School was Given Approval (1939, March 11). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.
6 Work Is Advanced At College Corner (1958, April 23). The Anderson Daily Bulletin. pp. 1, 6.
7 (See footnote 6).
8 Okeh College Corner School $150,000 Expansion Project. (1967, July 15). The Anderson Herald. p. 1.
9 ACS Student Enrollment Drops (1974, August 28). The Anderson Herald. p. 1
