My mom and I were crawling through traffic on the old Lincoln Highway between Fort Wayne and Churubusco when she pointed out what looked like an old schoolhouse. I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed it before- that stretch of highway was practically stitched into my childhood! Maybe I had seen it once upon a time, back before one-room schools hijacked my brain. Either way, the building finally caught my attention, and once it did, I had to know its story.
Eel River Township takes up the northwestern corner of Allen County. By 1898, the area was home to nine schoolhouses1. Plat maps from 1860 show one on what’s now US-33 between Carroll and McDuffee Roads2. The institution became known as Eel River after the township. The present structure was built around 18913.
Eel River Township combined its schools with Perry Township’s thirty years later4. As part of the arrangement, Perry closed all of its schools while Eel River shut down three. A consolidated elementary and high school was completed in nearby Huntertown in 19225, while Eel River’s last three schoolhouses -Madden, Center, and the one Mom and I found- closed down in 19376. Eel River eventually became a home. The converted building was advertised for sale in 1970 as a “converted school house painted yellow7.”
Today, the building remains a home, features a huge garage, and appears to be sinking into the ground.
Sources Cited
1 Beatty, J.D. (2006). History of Fort Wayne & Allen County, Indiana 1700-2005. M.T. Publishing [Evansville]. Book.
2 Allen County, Indiana from Surveys & Records (1860). R.J. Skinner [Hamilton]. Map.
3 Deborah Eidson School Collection (n.d.). The Genealogy Center. Allen County Public Library [Fort Wayne]. Web. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
4 (See footnote 3).
5 Allen County School Directories, 1922-1923 (1923). Allen County Board of Education [Fort Wayne]. Web. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
6 (See footnote 3).
7 (See footnote 3).
Cool! This is my stomping grounds, but I’ve never noticed this one. I’ll keep my eyes peeled next time I go by.
There are upwards of sixty schoolhouses still standing in Allen County. I’d spend a day or two visiting all of them, but the library already has and is a great online resource. I only happened to take a photo of this one since we were right there.
Is this a block or poured concrete building? It certainly has a sturdy appearance.
Since you mentioned it looks like it’s sinking I wonder if it’s on a slab.
It’s kind of hard to tell, but it’s brick covered with stucco. Not sure about the slab.