Amid the sea of strip malls, car lots, and big-box stores near Fort Wayne’s Jefferson Pointe shopping center, it’s easy to miss the small brick building tucked off Thomas Road in front of Target and Crumbl Cookie. Look closer, though, and you’ll find a piece of history hiding in plain sight. The unassuming structure, beautifully restored, once served as Wayne Township’s District 2 schoolhouse! It’s a true local landmark, even if most shoppers drive right past it.
With most of Wayne Township folded into suburban Fort Wayne, it’s hard to believe that the area was once home to open countryside. In 1892 -long before fast-food signs dotted Illinois Road- officials built a brick schoolhouse to serve the students of District 2 about where Arby’s sits today. The building was one of several in Wayne Township and a few in Allen County designed as a two-room school. It featured separate learning quarters for boys and girls1.
The District 2 schoolhouse closed its doors in 19232, but I’m not sure where its students ended up. Waynedale? Elmhurst? I wish I could say. The building remained vibrant, though. At times, it served as a home, a bakery, a church, a cross-stitch store, an antiques shop my Dad visited a time or two3, a beauty salon4, and even other uses. I remember it best as a cigar bar.
Perhaps the most remarkable chapter of the old District 2 school’s story came long after its final bell rang. In 2008, the 1,800-square-foot building was carefully moved about a fifth of a mile northeast to make way for new development.
Rather than demolish it, contractors cut four-foot holes in its foundation, hydraulically hoisted it up, and rolled it to its new location by remote control6! It’d have been cheaper to tear the old building down, but the site’s developer chose preservation over convenience. As Orchard Crossing took shape, the schoolhouse earned another new life as its historic backdrop.
Unfortunately, the District 2 schoolhouse appeared vacant when I visited and featured a for-sale sign out front. The building doesn’t shout for attention, but tells a story for those who know to look. In a part of Fort Wayne where nearly everything feels brand new, this modest brick building stands as a rare and welcome reminder that pieces of the past still remain.
Sources Cited
1 1890s Schoolhouse Moved (2008, March 26). The Waynedale News. Web. Retriebed May 4, 2025.
2 From schoolhouse to spa; local business brings new life to historic building. WANE 15 [Fort Wayne]. Web. Retriebed May 4, 2025.
3 Cavanaugh, J.P. (2024, March 15). Nightly Visits To My Home Town. J.P.’s Blog. Web. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
4 (See footnote 2).
5 Developer PTI Fort Wayne Plans To Move 1890s Schoolhouse (2008, March 6). Pine Tree. Web. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
6 (See footnote 1).
Ah yes, I remember it as Annette’s Schoolhouse Antiques. I think that is the only old schoolhouse building I have ever set foot in.