Researching old schoolhouses is a breeze in counties like Hamilton, Delaware, and Randolph, where resources are plentiful and records are well-preserved. Then there’s Jay County, which has been my nemesis for as long as I can remember. Finding reliable info there has been surprisingly tricky, but I recently learned the common names of four schools I knew next to nothing about.
I met my friend Dylan through a retail history group on social media, and it turns out he lives up in Jay County. He’s basically my neighbor! One day, he volunteered at the local historical society and offered to dig up anything that might help me out. I asked about old schoolhouse names, and he certainly delivered. Accordingly, Dylan gets half the credit for this post. The other half goes to the unsung Jay County historian who first matched district numbers with common names. Thanks to them, I’ve got some new schools to research.
Jefferson Township’s District 5 schoolhouse
Jefferson Township’s old District 5 schoolhouse has been added onto over the years, but sits on West County Road 575-South just a mile and a half west of the community of New Mt. Pleasant. According to the historical society, locals called the building the Swhier or Wentz schoolhouse1.
Wayne Township’s District 3 schoolhouse
Wayne Township’s old District 3 schoolhouse sits at the northwest corner of West County Road 200-North and North County Road 100-West in the corner of the township. Apparently, locals once knew it as the Adair schoolhouse2.
Madison Township’s District 3 schoolhouse
Madison Township’s District 3 schoolhouse stands behind a sea of rusty pickups just east of the intersection of East County Road 400-South and South County Road 700-East. Documents at the historical society say it was once called the Chapel or Wesley Chapel schoolhouse3.
Bear Creek Township’s District 7 schoolhouse
Bear Creek Township’s old District 7 school stands on East County Road 500-North about a half mile west of North County Road 350-East. According to the resource Dylan shared, the school was commonly known as Haffner4.
I’m glad to finally know a little more about some of the schoolhouses I visited four years ago. Sometimes, all it takes is a common name -Swhier, Adair, Wesley Chapel, or Haffner- to start a flurry of research! Still, Jay County still holds a lot of its secrets close. There are too many old schoolhouses I’ve visited that I can’t pin down much about at all, like Jefferson Township’s old District 7 school, pictured above. If you have any information about it or the other schools I’ve listed, I can’t wait to get in touch.
Sources Cited
1 Schoolhouse names of Jay County, Indiana (n.d.) Jay County Historical Society [Portland]. Spreadsheet.
2 (see footnote 1).
3 (see footnote 1).
4 (see footnote 1).
