Read time: 3 min.

It had been four years since I last drove past the old District 3 schoolhouse in Niles Township. On that earlier visit, the building still wore its original bell, perched proudly in its cupola¹. More recently, though, the sight stopped me short- the cupola is gone, replaced by a new roof! I’m glad the schoolhouse has survived, but a meaningful piece of its character has slipped away. I hope it’s only temporary. 

In 1874, a District 7 schoolhouse stood on John Vincent’s land² about a football field’s length south of the extant structure³. It was called the Wingate school due to its proximity to the farm of James Wingate, a cousin of Vincent’s, and the two families later held reunions at the old school⁴. By 1887, the schoolhouse had been realigned to serve Niles Township’s District 3⁵ and, later, it became known as Oak Grove⁶. The extant building was completed in 1889⁷.

The District 3 schoolhouse closed in 1916 along with districts 1, 4, 6, 8, and 9⁸. Niles Township never featured a consolidated school of its own, so the students of District 3 were sent to Albany in neighboring Delaware Township. Pupils from the other schools that closed were split up between buildings in Albany, Eaton, and Dunkirk⁹. 

Today, the old Wingate or Oak Grove schoolhouse is still owned by the Niles Township Trustee¹⁰. That’s remarkably rare! It’s bittersweet to see the cupola gone, but the new roof is an encouraging sign of care and investment. With any luck, that attention will eventually bring the school’s original bell and cupola back where they belong to restore a familiar silhouette to the landscape.

Sources Cited
1 Baer, D. (1988, June 4). Tour of eight historical structures is Sunday. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 13. 
2 Kingman, A.L. (1874). Map of Delaware County, Indiana: from recent & original surveys, made expressly for this map, drawn, compiled and published by A.L. Kingman and assistants. map, Chicago, IL; A.L. Kingman.
3 Oak Grove School Reunion September 8. (1940, August 30). The Muncie Morning Star. p. 6.
4 Spurgeon, W. (1994, March 1). Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star. p. 4.
5 Griffing, B. N. (1887). Mt. Pleasant Township. An atlas of Delaware County, Indiana . map, Philadelphia, PA; Griffing, Gordon, & Company.
6 Former Pupils at Oak Grove in 50th Reunion. (1952, September 9). The Muncie Star. p. 8.
7 Delaware County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2021). Parcel ID: 0427400014000. Delaware County, Indiana Assessor. map, Muncie, IN.
8 Niles Township Schools May Not Open This Term. (1917, September 7). The Muncie Morning Star. p. 17. 
9 Delaware County Committee for the Reorganization of School Corporations. (1959). A Comprehensive plan for the reorganization of school corporations of Delaware County Indiana. Muncie, IN; Delaware County Committee for the Reorganization of School Corporations.