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I’m not sure how things looked in your part of the world, but last week brought a series of terrifying storms to my neck of the woods. An EF-2 tornado tore across I-69 just west of my house, another came even closer, and a third one touched down in southwestern Madison County! Sadly, Stony Creek Township’s old Huffman schoolhouse stood in the third twister’s path. The historic building -now a home- took a serious hit. 

If you’ve ever driven from Fortville to Pendleton or from Pendleton to Lapel, I’m sure you’ve seen the old Huffman schoolhouse. It’s a landmark along State Road 13! A school has stood on what was once Jasper Huffman’s 114-acre farm since as early as 1880¹, but the present building appears to have been constructed nine years later².

The Huffman School closed its doors in 1925 when its students were sent to the consolidated building in Lapel. Just two years later, the old schoolhouse -along with several other outmoded structures- was auctioned off by the township trustee³. Eventually, the building was added to and found new life as a home. 

My house was spared any damage during last week’s storms, but the tornado that roared across State Road 13 last week did more than rattle windows. It carved a sobering path of destruction through the East-Central Indiana landscape. I hope the old Huffman schoolhouse can be restored so the landmark continues to hold its place along the roadside. The old building’s more than just a simple structure: it’s an emblem of the resilience that runs deep in rural communities even after the storms have passed.

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 Office of Information & GIS Services. (2021). Parcel ID: 48-15-03-200-001.000-032 . 
3 Five Rural Schools Near Lapel Are Sold (1927, July 15). The Elwood Call-Leader. p. 6