Read time: 6 min.

I’ve been obsessed with the one-room schoolhouses across East-Central Indiana for years now, and I’ve spent a lot of time taking pictures of them. Some have been repurposed and others have been left to decay, but each one I found still carried a sense of place and memory. In the time since I first set out for photos, though, several have been lost. Whether demolished, burned, or simply erased, the Bethel, Rees, Reese, Shady Grove, and Summers schoolhouses are all gone now. I hope their memories won’t completely fade away. 

Delaware County’s Reese schoolhouse

The Reese schoolhouse served students in District 7 of Delaware County’s Center Township. It was built in 1860¹ on land that was owned by Lewis Reese².  From what I’ve learned, the institution seems to have operated as an early kindergarten up until 1890. That year, frame annexes to Muncie’s Jackson school were completed³, which allowed students of District 7 to transfer there⁴.

The schoolhouse became home to many businesses after it closed. Eventually, it was a gas station for a while before it was converted into a dwelling. In 2019, the building burnt down after a fire started in its kitchen. The blaze tragically claimed the life of a child who lived there⁵ and the ruined schoolhouse was razed two years later. 

Madison County’s Summers schoolhouse

Students from District 10 in Madison County’s Monroe Township went to the old Summers schoolhouse, which was sometimes called Fairview. At first, they attended classes in a log cabin⁶! The earliest structure gave way to a frame school in 1858, then a brick building in 1889⁷. 

The brick school served Monroe Township for decades before closing its doors in 1923 when a new consolidated school opened in Orestes. Neighbors eventually planned to buy the old building to serve as a community center⁸, but it was long-since abandoned by the time it was torn down a few weeks ago. 

Delaware County’s Bethel schoolhouse

In Delaware County, the students of Harrison Township’s District 6 went to school at Bethel. They were better off for it! Built in 1898⁹, the school served students from grades one through nine¹⁰ and was an impressive building in its day. It consisted of two stories, a gabled roof, a belfry, and a landmark spire. 

The Bethel schoolhouse closed after the 1923-24 school year so its students could attend the new Harrison Township Consolidated School a mile and three-quarters east. Shortly afterward, the old schoolhouse was remodeled into a home. The building’s most recent owner began to demolish the structure in 2021. Work was completed three years later. 

Delaware County’s Shady Grove schoolhouse

The old Shady Grove schoolhouse in Delaware County’s Washington Township was also known as Thompson. An early school stood on the east side of Wheeling Pike in 1874, but the schoolhouse most remember was established across the road in 1878¹¹. Measuring 50 x 26 feet¹², it was larger than a typical one-room school.

The Shady Grove or Thompson schoolhouse closed after the 1905-06 school term when its students were sent to the consolidated building at Gaston. After it was retired, the old school was converted to the Grey Eagle Filling Station13! A local landmark, the gas station seems to have closed around 1970. The old school had been abandoned for years before it was finally demolished in July 2024. 

Delaware County’s Rees schoolhouse

Perry Township’s District 3 schoolhouse, known as Rees, stood for nearly a century and a half in Delaware County. The brick structure appeared to have been built in 1859¹⁴ and was originally numbered as District 4¹⁵. Locals knew it as the Rees schoolhouse due to its location on land originally owned by that family¹⁶.

The Rees schoolhouse closed after the 1905-06 school year so its students could attend a new consolidated school at District 9. I first encountered the building more than a hundred years later, and it became a favorite of mine- loved how it emerged from the foliage like a secret that only revealed itself to people who drove past slowly and took the time to look for it! Unfortunately, it was sold to a new owner who demolished the building in 2022. 

It’s always a little heartbreaking to revisit old schoolhouse sites and find nothing other than a patch of grass, a gravel drive, or maybe a few scattered bricks. Still, I’m grateful I had the chance to take photos of these five schoolhouses when I did and to catch a glimpse of their character before they disappeared. The buildings may be gone, but with any luck, their stories will be remembered.

Sources Cited
1 Delaware County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2021). Parcel ID: 1127153001000. Delaware County, Indiana Assessor. map, Muncie, IN.
2 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.
3 Sanborn Map Company (Ed.). (1896). Muncie. Insurance Maps of Muncie Indiana. map, New York, NY; Sanborn Map Company. 
4 New School Building. (1890, December 29). The Muncie Morning News. p. 1.
5 9-year-old who died in Muncie fire was home alone, fire investigator says. (2019, February 8). WTHR. Web. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
6 Fairview School Home-Coming All Day Sunday (1925, May 26). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1
7 Fairview School to Hold Reunion Sunday, May 24 (1925, May 22). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 1.3 3 Orestes Elementary School faces, history, and memories (2003, June 18). The Alexandria Times-Tribune. p. 8. 
8 (See footnote 7). 
9 Delaware County Map, 1900 (2018, October 1). Map Collection, Indiana Division, Indiana State Library.
10 Spurgeon, W. (1995, May 25). Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star. P. 4.
11 Delaware County, Indiana. (1878 October 21). Deed Book 44. p. 234.
12 Delaware County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2021). Parcel ID: 0225100001000. Delaware County, Indiana Assessor. map, Muncie, IN.
13 Public Auction. (1941, December 6). The Muncie Star. p. 11.
14 Delaware County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2021). Parcel ID: 1232300005000. Delaware County, Indiana Assessor. map, Muncie, IN.
15 Helm, T. B. (1881). Mount Pleasant Township. In History of Delaware County, Indiana: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. book, Kingman Brothers.
16 Bradbury, R.B. (1935, September 29). The Old Timer. The Muncie Sunday Star. p. 16.