Read time: 2 min.

Last weekend’s need to run to Columbia City for a picnic basket turned into the perfect excuse for me to tag along with my Mom and see if we might stumble across a few old schoolhouses. Sure enough, we didn’t have to wait long. One of the first we spotted sat tucked among rows of small engines and construction equipment at the southwest corner of State Roads 9 and 14 in Whitley County’s Washington Township.

The first term of what was later known as Washington Township’s District 1 school was taught by Jacob Huffer around 1853¹. The cabin stood eighty rods, or a quarter mile, west of the present site. Eventually, it was replaced by a frame structure dubbed the “Poor Hook²” schoolhouse- a name that didn’t exactly inspire pride. Before long, the community gave it a friendlier title: Maple Grove³.

The present school was built around 1890⁴. It appears to have closed in 1928, when Washington Township’s remaining schoolhouses consolidated into the Washington Center School two miles south and two miles west⁵. After it was shuttered, the remodeled building served as a restaurant for a time⁶. More recently, it was home to The Old Rocking Chair Gardens and Gifts. 

Sources Cited
1 Kaler, S.P. & Maring, R.H. (1907). History of Whitley County Indiana. B.F. Bowen & Co. [Indianapolis].Book. 
2 (See footnote 1). 
3 (See footnote 1). 
4 Whitley County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2025). Columbia City. Parcel ID: 92-09-11-000-105.000-013. Map. 
5 Washington Center School Will Be Abandoned, New Building Open Soon (1962, December 8). The Columbia City Commercial-Mail. Pp. 1-3. 
6 Subdue Burglars By Blasting Car With 2 Shotguns (1957, December 24). The Columbia City Commercial-Mail. p. 1.