I first visited many of Delaware County’s old one-room schoolhouses when I was twelve, but it wasn’t until I was twenty-four that I started taking pictures of them. I thought I’d captured every last one until a deep dive into Google Earth proved me wrong! Turns out, I missed Harrison Township’s District 9 schoolhouse, known as Mount Olive or Jaybird. Sadly, what remains of it is fading fast. It likely won’t be around for future generations.
I owe my love for old schoolhouses to my grandma. After she retired, Marilyn volunteered for the Delaware County Historical Society and put together a curriculum for fourth graders studying Indiana history. One of the highlights was a map she adapted that marked schoolhouses, round barns, cemeteries, and other historic features. In the summer of 2003, Grandma and Mom went to take photos of the schoolhouses. My Gameboy must have been out of batteries, so I hitched a ride.
I don’t remember seeing the Jaybird school back then, probably because it barely existed. By the 1960s, the building, which once served Harrison Township’s District 9, had already been described as a “brick ruin1.” A decade or so later, retired Muncie doctor Phil Ball purchased the property and preserved the western wall of the structure along with the school’s old well2.
Back before there were only a wall and a well to stake its claim, Harrison Township’s District 9 schoolhouse was an important building. The first iteration of the school was a frame structure built in 1867 on land donated by Charles Mansfield3. The building was replaced by a brick schoolhouse in 18734, and the following year it was referred to as the District 7 school5. This designation changed by 1881, though, as Mt. Olive was listed as District 9 when E.E. Grimes was the teacher6.
Later, the school was also known as Jaybird. It closed after the 1923-24 term, when Harrison Township’s remaining one-room schools were taken into a new consolidated school four miles northwest.
The wall was crumbling when I revisited the schoolhouse in 2021. I’ve driven by several times over the past three years, and it’s disintegrating quickly! Hidden beneath thick foliage, the remains of Harrison Township’s Mt. Olive/Jaybird school are already hard to spot. If no one steps in to preserve it, what little is left will soon vanish completely. I’m glad I captured some photos before it’s lost to time for good.
Sources Cited
1 Harris, B. (1966, October 1). Mount Olive Church Near Goal for African Building. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 5.
2 Album of yesteryear. (1997, June, 22). The Muncie Star Press. p. 3B.
3 Delaware County, Indiana. (1867, July 9). Deed Book 41. p. 476.
4 Harris, B. (1995, July 23). A celebration of faith. The Muncie Star. p. B1.
5 Kingman, A.L. (1874). Map of Delaware County, Indiana : from recent & original surveys, made expressly for this map, drawn, compiled and published by A.L. Kingman and assistants. map, Chicago, IL; A.L. Kingman.
6 Helm, T. B. (1881). Mount Pleasant Township. In History of Delaware County, Indiana: With Illustrations and
