I was driving through rural LaGrange County when I saw a schoolhouse. As I pulled over for a closer look, I wondered if I’d have any luck researching the school and it’s history since its so far from where I usually roam. Fortunately, I have the archives of the old Topeka Journal on hand! They filled in much of the story.
The first school in LaGrange County’s Eden Township was taught by Kendall Kent in 18341. By 1882, Eden Township was home to nine schoolhouses2. One of them, Thompson, stood on land owned by W.H. Poyser as early as 18743. It served students from District 54.
Tree branches obscured the old Thompson school’s date block when I passed, but I venture to guess that this version of the institution was built in the 1890s, when the T-shaped style with a projecting entrance flanked by cloakrooms became prevalent. Rural schoolhouses like Thompson were used as meeting places nearly as much as they were for scholastic pursuits. On June 11, 1914, Eden Township Republicans held a convention there5. Not to be outdone, area Democrats convened there the following month6.
Unfortunately, all of Eden Township’s one-room schools were condemned in 1929. Because the school at Topeka was full, officials initially planned for students to disperse to Shipshewana, Middlebury, Ligonier, and Millersburg7. That doesn’t appear to have happened, because Thompson, Cramer, Fairview, Honeyville, Mishler, Roderick, and Emma all reopened for the 1930 school year8.
A consolidated Eden Township School at Honeyville opened in 1930, which led to the closure of the one-room schools soon after. Today, with a huge hole knocked in its southern flank, the old Thompson schoolhouse is used for agricultural storage.
Sources Cited
1 Local School History (1925, September 17). The Topeka Journal. p. 1.
2 (See footnote 1).
3 Durant, S.W. & P.A. (1874). Illustrated Historical Atlas of LaGrange County, Indiana. Andres & Baskin. Map.
4 Illustrated Atlas and Columbian Souvenir of LaGrange County, Indiana (1893). LaGrange Publishing Company [LaGrange]. Map.
5 Republican Caucus Call (1914, June 11). The Topeka Journal. p. 5.
6 Eden Township Democrats Name Ticket (1914, July 30). The Topeka Journal. p. 1.
7 Condemn Buildings (1929, February 14). The Topeka Journal. p. 1.
8 Eden Township School Teachers (1930, August 28). The Topeka Journal. p. 1.
