I was out hunting Long Line towers when I wound up in Clear Spring- a tiny, blink-and-you ’ll-miss-it spot in Owen County’s Jackson Township. As I zeroed in on the tower rising in the distance, something else caught my eye: a massive, weathered building straight ahead. It looked oddly familiar. After a moment, it clicked: this was the Owen Township Consolidated School, the very one Brett Yoder featured on the fading gyms page of his Hoosier Gym Journey blog! I love it when my worlds collide like that.
I hadn’t planned on writing a post about the old Clear Spring–Owen Township school. Honestly, I just snapped a quick photo to text to Brett, then headed off toward the Long Line tower two-thirds of a mile away. My picture wasn’t the best, but the building stuck with me. Curiosity got the better of me before long and I had to dig into its story.
In 1900, Owen Township was home to at least ten rural district schoolhouses1. As with other communities, though, the need for consolidation eventually became apparent. In 1923, officials issued bonds for $16,050 to erect a centralized school2. The building -a handsome brick structure with an arched facade at the corner of County Road 350-North and Broadway Street in Clear Spring- was dedicated on February 23, 19243. Four students graduated the following year4.
In 1970, Clear Spring’s Purple Warriors5 consolidated into the elementary and high schools of Brownstown Central Community School Corporation and became known as the Braves6. Fifty-five years later, the Jackson County Assessor calls the old building a barn in very poor condition7. A stone’s throw away, the old Long Line tower I found casts a tall shadow over it.
Sources Cited
1 Descriptive atlas of Jackson County, Indiana (1900). American Map and Atlas Company [Chicago]. Map.
2 Notice to Taxpayers on Bond Issue (1923, May 2). The Jackson County Banner. p. 8.
3 Liberty (1924, February 20). The Seymour Daily Tribune. p. 4.
4 2 Commencements To Be This Week (1925, April 29). The Jackson County Banner. p. 1.
5 Houck, E. (2009). Hoosiers All: Indiana High School Basketball: Team Names, Glory Seasons, Boys and Girls, Large and Small. Hawthorne Publications [Portland]. Book.
6 Note of the Intention to Consolidate the Elementary and High Schools of Owen Township and Brownstown Central Community School Corporation, All of Jackson County, Indiana (1970, April 15). The Seymour Daily Tribune. p. 6.
7 Parcel 36-63-29-401-013.000-010 (2025). Office of the Assessor. Jackson County [Brownstown]. Web. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
