Back when I served on the board of the Delaware County Historical Society, I thought about launching a “Ten Most Endangered” list like Indiana Landmarks does. I never got that far, but if I had, Niles Township’s old Green Street Schoolhouse would’ve been near the top. Last I checked, much of its gable had collapsed. For a historic building, that’s not just worrisome- that’s a five-alarm fire for preservationists!
I first saw the old Green Street Schoolhouse in Niles Township as a kid in 2002, and I went back in 2014 as an adult. Both times, it looked much like many of the other rural schoolhouses I’d explored, except for the clunky garage door someone had hacked into the front. At the time, I didn’t realize the road it sat on had its own deep history.
Early settlers called it Green Street, and it was one of the area’s earliest thoroughfares. Today, it’s known as North County Road 800-East, which loosely links Dunkirk to Albany. Locals gave it the name because so many of them hailed from Greene County, Ohio1. Around 1840, John Battreall donated land for a schoolhouse to serve District 1 on the road2. By 1852, it was one of ten schools in Niles Township. A devastating windstorm destroyed the original frame building on July 4, 1871, but the community quickly rebuilt. The brick structure that still stands today rose that same year3.
The Green Street School closed after the 1916–17 school year4, when its students were sent to Dunkirk5. After that, the building was relegated to agricultural storage. Sometime between my first visit and my last, though, disaster struck: part of the west-facing gable came crashing down, leaving the old structure badly compromised.
Even so, the old Green Street Schoolhouse is still standing. Maybe the owner isn’t insured and doesn’t want to foot the demolition bill- or maybe they’re just letting nature take its course. Who knows? Whatever the reason, I’m just glad it’s still hanging on, weathered gables and all.
It’s been about a year since I drove past the old schoolhouse. Just watch- with my luck, it’s already been demolished. I really hope not.
Sources Cited
1 Ellis, J. (1898, June 8). Our County. The Muncie Morning News. p. 3.
2 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. book, Kingman Brothers.
3 Shirk, O. (1947, January 25). The Green Street School. The Muncie Morning Star. p. 5.\
4 Niles Township Schools May Not Open This Term. (1917, September 7). The Muncie Morning Star. p. 17.
5 (See footnote 4).
It is kind of amazing that it has held on this long, given the damage.
I thought so too! Unfortunately, as you found, it wasn’t for long.