The town of Granville was platted by John Gregory in 1836, five years after he purchased the surrounding land1. The first schoolhouse there was a log structure that was also home to meetings of the Granville Christian Church from 1835 to 1842. By 1852, the Granville school was one of ten in Niles Township2.
Continue reading “Niles Township’s Granville schoolhouse in Delaware County”
I’ll never forget the first time I stumbled across a flowing artesian well. It was midnight and I was twenty, fresh off a shift at my call center job. No twenty-year-old wants to stagger home and hit the sack right after work, so in those days I’d go explore the countryside by car. One night, with no idea where I was, I slowly crossed an iron bridge and found myself staring at a pair of enormous boulders that -I swear- had water spewing out of them. At that moment, I felt as though I had stumbled upon a biblical miracle.
Continue reading “The artesian well at Granville, Indiana”
As of this writing, I’ve been to 232 old schoolhouses across East Central Indiana. I’m sure there are more in the counties I’ve only dipped a toe into, but by the numbers it’s easier to find an old schoolhouse than it is to find a Filet-O-Fish or a Five Dollar Footlong as long as you know where to look. I tend to research most of the schools I come across in advance, but today I wanted to discuss the methods I’d use to identify old schoolhouses if I found myself driving around aimlessly. I’m not an expert, but these tips have worked pretty well for me so far:
Continue reading “How to identify an old schoolhouse when you’re out driving around”