A friend sent me a postcard that purports to show the old public school in Shideler, a Delaware County community that straddles the Hamilton-Union Township line. It’s an interesting image that shows a narrow, two-story building with a hipped roof, central cupola, a pump, and what I presume to be an outhouse. Unfortunately, it looks nothing like the old schoolhouse still standing in town.
The community of Shideler sprang up in Delaware County around 1870 when the Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati Railroad was extended through the area. Isaac Shideler, a railroad promoter, opened a store and post office near the station1. As a kid, I was told my family was distantly related to those Hamilton Township fellers, but I haven’t been able to establish a connection.
In 1880, a school was established to serve Shideler students from Hamilton and Union Townships2. The following year, Sarah Shideler deeded the land for the school at Lot 4 in Block 6 to the Hamilton School Township3. A schoolhouse was quickly built to serve a new District 114. In 1885, it appears that a brick school immediately east of the first building was put up on lot 35.
By 1898, one of the Shideler schools had earned graded high school status and was serving students from Hamilton Township’s District 96. I’m guessing the larger building on the postcard is the one that got that upgrade, but I can’t say for certain since it’s long gone. It does make me wonder, though: was tiny Shideler home to two schoolhouses at the same time? It sure looks that way, but I haven’t been able to confirm it.
The only hint I have is from 1946, when Arlie Beeler reported to Muncie Star columnist Dick Greene that an old “Quaker school building [stood] next to his home7” I assume that’s the extant Shideler school, but I have no idea. Plat maps don’t seem to help. At any rate, Shideler was the last Hamilton Township schoolhouse to consolidate into Royerton. Either the one- or two-story institution closed at the end of the 1922-23 school year, when James Dragstrem served as teacher8.
Whatever the case, the mystery surrounding Shideler’s schoolhouses adds another layer to the community’s quiet history. I may never know for sure how many buildings once stood or which one earned high school status, but that’s part of the fun -and agony- in digging through old records and postcards as I continue to dig into Delaware County’s schoolhouse history.
Sources Cited
1 Kemper, G. W. H. (1908). Education in Delaware County. In A Twentieth Century History of Delaware County, Indiana, Volume 1. book, Lewis Publishing Company.
2 A view of the schools. (1880, March 30). The Muncie Daily Times. p. 2.
3 Delaware County, Indiana. (1881 October 23). Deed Book 49. p. 255.
4 Helm, T. B. (1881). Mount Pleasant Township. In History of Delaware County, Indiana: With Illustrations and
5 Truitt, W. (1871, December 29). Shideler. Delaware County Office of Information & GIS Services. plat map, Muncie, IN.
6 Ellis, J. S. (1898, August 17). Our County. Its History and Early Settlement by Townships. The Muncie Morning News. p. 6.
7 10 Greene, D. (1946, March 27). Seen and Heard in Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star Press. p. 6.
8 Delaware County Public Schools. (1923). School directory, Delaware County public schools, Delaware County, Indiana 1923-1924. Muncie, IN.
Very interesting postcard…it may or may not be but in the distance, at least to me, it looks like there is a pole which would mean the picture is either looking east or looking west (my guess is looking west based upon the snow cover and photo light) and would put its location relatively close to the tracks. Could it have been up on the Reasoner lot or perhaps just south of it off Union Street?
Good eye! I hadn’t even noticed the pole. I bet you’re right. I’ll have to do some more digging!
I’ve got the original postcard that was published by the Burkey Bros Postcard Studio in Muncie and it shows more of the image on the left and right sides and there is a pole also on the other side of the shed (or outhouse) on the left side. Not sure if that helps or not. Jeff K.
I would love to see it!