Two rural schools nestled in the heart of the Rush County countryside are stark studies in contrast. The weathered tower of the Washington Township Public School in Raleigh is a sad reminder of the ebb and flow of rural life. A stone’s throw away, the Center Township Grade & High School in neighboring Mays stands as a beacon of hope and renewal.
Continue reading “Resilience and renewal at the old school in Mays”
My mom and I had eyes on the old Long Line tower near LaGrange when we noticed an old schoolhouse in unusually-tidy repair. I tend to be single-minded on research trips, but Mom insisted I take a photo. I did, and here’s all I’ve been able to uncover about Bloomfield Township’s Oak Grove Schoolhouse in LaGrange County.
Continue reading “LaGrange County’s Oak Grove schoolhouse sits in the shadow of a Long Line tower”
I was elected to the Delaware County Historical Society board back in October. We call ourselves a working board, and I’ve taken that responsibility seriously by editing our newsletter, The Society Quarterly. I’m also participating in a new discussion series called Lost and Found. My first presentation was last Thursday.
Continue reading “Lost and Found: Center Township”
William Summers deeded the land for Monroe Township’s original District 10 schoolhouse, a log cabin, in 18571. A year later, the building was displaced by a frame structure. The second school was moved across the road to become a church in 1889, when a brick schoolhouse was built on its original site2.
Continue reading “Monroe Township’s Summers/Fairview schoolhouse in Madison County”
A schoolhouse has sat at the corner of County Road 700-North and Fortville Pike in Hancock County for more than a hundred and fifty years1. In 1852, Alfred Denney was among several people who organized German Baptist services in the first log structure. A frame replacement was destroyed by fire in 1884, and the extant brick schoolhouse was erected the following year2.
Continue reading “Vernon Township’s Denney schoolhouse in Hancock County”
Center Township’s District 8 school, known as Clay College, was dedicated in 1880. It was replaced by a two-story frame building known as Forest Park that sat on West Eighth Street near South Rochester Drive in Muncie. Unfortunately, the schoolhouse was overcrowded and unsanitary. It was condemned several times before it finally closed2.
Continue reading “Center Township’s old Forest Park school in Delaware County”
Named after a Seminole Indian, the community of Osceola was laid out in 1855. Soon, several businesses like a general store, a blacksmith, and a cobbler sprung up. Unfortunately, the Nickel Plate Road bypassed Osceola in favor of nearby Orestes1. A post office was discontinued in 18592 and the town floundered.
Continue reading “Monroe Township’s Osceola schoolhouse in Madison County”
The hamlet of Millville was platted in 1855. Situated halfway between New Castle and Hagerstown on the old Panhandle Route of the Pennsylvania Railroad1, the community was home to a graded schoolhouse as early as 18802. The first iteration of the present school was built in 18933.
Continue reading “Liberty Township’s Millville schoolhouse in Henry County”
I always thought one-room schoolhouses were relics of an ancient era. It surprised me to learn that some in Blackford County operated through the 1950s and 60s! Today, a pair of elementary buildings that succeeded the one-room schools of Licking and Jackson Township have been consolidated as well. I guess time marches on.
Continue reading “Two consolidated schools in Blackford County that got consolidated themselves”
I’ve been to about two hundred and fifty old schoolhouses around East Central Indiana. My trips have taught me that most of them have been repurposed into homes, churches, corn cribs, and sheds! I’m glad so many have been saved, but the abandoned schoolhouses are the ones that truly speak to me. I hesitate to call them my favorites, but here are ten of the most compelling schoolhouse ruins I’ve found thus far.
Continue reading “Ten ruined schoolhouses in East-Central Indiana”