A detour on my typical way home led me past some places I hadn’t been to in a while. One was the old High Banks Bridge, where I waited my way to cross like a pioneer. Another was the site of the old Goodpasture schoolhouse.
The first schools in Salem Township were established earlier than many others in the area. The earliest we know of was on the farm of David Van Matre, which was in session during the winter of 1828-29 near the present-day corner of South County Road 700-W and the Henry County line, southwest of the Cross Roads community1. Eliza B. Watkins was the first teacher2.
By 1881, the township had grown to feature twelve schoolhouses. I’ve written about the ones that still stand, like White Oak, Walnut Grove, Center, Moffett’s, Mt. Healthy, and Warner, before. Built on land owned by Jessie Goodpasture in 18823 the schoolhouse that took his name served students from Salem Township’s District 3. It stood just west of the corner of what’s now County Road 400-South and County Road 900-West4.
The Goodpasture schoolhouse closed after the 1908-1909 school term5, and I imagine its students were sent to Daleville as part of consolidation efforts. Elizabeth Betterton served as the school’s final teacher6. The old schoolhouse -or what remained of it- stood near the crossroads north of Daleville for many years after it closed. Unfortunately, there’s nothing left of the building today aside from the trees that once framed it.
Sources Cited
1 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 (pp. 268–269). book, Kingman Brothers.2 (See footnote 2).
3 In Muncie 50 and 25 years Ago (1932, December 23). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 4.
4 Griffing, B. N. (1887). Salem Township. An atlas of Delaware County, Indiana. map, Philadelphia, PA; Griffing, Gordon, & Company.
5 Delaware County Public Schools. (1908). School directory, Delaware County public schools, Delaware County, Indiana 1908-1909. Muncie, IN.
6 (See footnote 4).
