East-Central Indiana history enthusiasts like me are fortunate to have so many one-room schoolhouses still standing. I’ve found the remains of fourteen in tiny Blackford County alone! Often, though, my research uncovers a landmark I was too late to see for myself. One was the Ervin Schoolhouse in Licking Township, which once stood at the corner of County Road 400-South and State Road 3. There’s nothing left of it today.
Licking Township’s first teachers included Eli Rigdon, who was later an early county commissioner; Aaron McVicker; Elizabeth Hart; Christopher Clapper; and William W. Cline1. Several rural schools eventually sprung up, and the Ervin schoolhouse was established to serve the students of District 9.
The original building, a frame structure, sat on land owned by Samuel Ervin. That’s how it got its common name. It was replaced by a larger, brick building with a corner tower in 1910. Along with the Guseman and Carney schools, the second Ervin school was erected during A.N. Purely’s tenure as Licking Township trustee2. The building was expanded in 19133, probably to take the students from the old Hughes schoolhouse, which closed the previous year4.
Most of Licking Township’s old schoolhouses closed over the next thirty years, but Ervin remained large enough to need two teachers as late as 1945-465. Along with other holdovers Carney, Guseman, and Slater, the school was finally shuttered in 1957 after its students were sent to the modern Licking Township Elementary6.
After it closed, the Ervin schoolhouse became home to an antique shop. Unfortunately, the landmark was demolished in 1991 after a long period of disuse7. Today, all that remains of the structure are the trees that once framed it.
Sources Cited
1 Shinn, B. (1900) Biographical Memoirs of Blackford County, Ind. book. The Bowen Publishing Company. Chicago, IL.
2 Spurgeon, B. (1991, August 23). Seen and Heard in Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star. p. 4.
3 Advisory Board Meets (1908, January 27). The Muncie Star. p. 8.
4 Suit to Quiet Title (1912, January 22). The Muncie Star. p. 7.
5 Two Teachers To Be Employed (1946, July 25). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 10.
6 Blackford School Term Opens Sept. 3 (1957, August 20). The Muncie Star. p. 16.
7 Spurgeon, B. (1991, September 19). Seen and Heard in Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star. p. 4.
