Township Schools

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=97 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="041f0f21egerdp.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Arial Narrow" ><B><IMG SRC="13911b330.jpg" border=0 width="27" height="51" ALT="half circle" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="YANKEE" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="YANKEE" ><B>Classes</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Arial Narrow" ><B>      |   </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Baskerville BT" ><B> </B></FONT><A HREF="http://www.kewannahigh.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.kewannahigh.com"><U><B>KHS Home</B></U></A><B>  </B><A HREF="class_images.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Images"><U><B>Image Home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Classes"><U>Classes</U></A>   |   <A HREF="class_images.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Images"><U>Images</U></A>   |   Township Schools</div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=179 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="040f2f02egerdp.jpg"> <div> <I><B><IMG SRC="1395a0650.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="101" ALT="KHS" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>  Kewanna High School</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>  Kewanna Indiana</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>  1900 - 1982</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://store.i-supply.com/?storeID=1022631" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://store.i-supply.com/?storeID=10226"><U><I><B>s h o p   o n l i n e  at</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://store.i-supply.com/?storeID=1022631" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://store.i-supply.com/?storeID=10226"><U><I><B>B u y  H e r e  B u y  N o w</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <I><B>powered by</B></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://store.i-supply.com/?storeID=1022631" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://store.i-supply.com/?storeID=10226"><U><I><B><IMG SRC="13976e210.png" border=0 width="110" height="33" ALT="Click here to shop online at i-SUPPLY." ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></I></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=383 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Township Schools</I></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="581" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 33 WIDTH="212"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="212" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="358"><div> Country Schools</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 26 WIDTH="212"><div> <A HREF="1924_russell_school.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="24 Russell School"><U>1924 Russell School</U></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="358"><div> by Mary Ruth Ingram</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="24_lake_bruce_school.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="24 Lake Bruce School"><U>1924 Lake Bruce School</U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="358"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="358" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>LOOKING BACK</B></div> <div>  </div> <div> Ah, to have experienced the era of the country schools in the late 1800's/early 1900's in Union Township! Below is a vivid description of just what an experience it must have been to attend the one-room schools before they faded into oblivion. </div> <div> <IMG SRC="136d80800.gif" border=0 width="128" height="128" ALT="Little Country School" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="9" VSPACE="3">Students walked to school, some several miles, as there were no school buses in the early days. On cold winter days, some students were brought to school by a parent in a horse-drawn buggy.  The first school hacks (buses) were home-made and horse-drawn. One of the first powered school bus consisted of a four-cyclinder Buick for the front and the rear end was a Model T truck. It was heated by the exhaust pipe running down the center. There was a bench down the center and seats along the side facing in.                       </div> <div> All eight grades, usually seated in rows according to age, were taught by just one teacher. The curriculum consisted of just the basics - reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, history and grammar.<IMG SRC="136e5c3c0.jpg" border=0 width="92" height="60" ALT="Readin, ritin and rithmatic" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="29" VSPACE="3"></div> <div> Modern conveniences were central heat provided by a pot-bellied stove usually located in the middle of the room; air-conditioning when the door and windows were open; and running water (one of the students would run out to the pump or to a neighbor's house to fill the bucket of water and then run back in with it). Everyone drank out of the same tin cup. Of course, the restrooms consisted of two privys located a short distance from the school.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="136f845e0.gif" border=0 width="132" height="94" ALT="Chalk Board" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="9" VSPACE="3">The students carried their lunch in lunch pails and brown paper bags. Their lunches usually consisted of home-butchered beef or pork sandwiches on homemade bread, jelly bread, boiled eggs and apples.</div> <div>  Recess..... what every student always looked forward to! No fancy playground equipment - just lots of imagination and ingenuity to manufacture their own activities. Games such as Hide-and-Seek, Red Light, Tag, Shinny, Draw Base, Kick The Can, Softball, Andy-Over, London Bridge, Tug-of-War, Drop The Handkerchief, Run Sheep Run, Pigtail, Statue, Jump Rope, Mulberry Bush, Blackman, Charlie Over The Water, Farmer In The Dell, Basketball and Kick The Wicket. In inclement weather, inside activities included Post Office, Blindman's Bluff, Tic-Tac-Toe and Toss The Bean Bag. Winter recess activities included Fox and Geese in the snow and skating/sledding on nearby frozen ponds. <IMG SRC="1370614e0.gif" border=0 width="97" height="78" ALT="Schoolbooks" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="9" VSPACE="3"></div> <div> Other activities during the school year included Box Socials, Fishing Ponds, Cake Walks, Spell Downs and Cyphering Contests. The closing day of school was special. The parents brought baskets of delicious food for a picnic. The children received their report cards and then entertained their families with songs, recitations and plays.</div> <bR> <div>  </div> <div>                 </div> <div> <B>UNION TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS</B></div> <div>  </div> <div> As of the year 1883, the country (one-room) schools in Union Township were Bruce Lake Station, College Corner, Davis or Jackson, Ireland, Lake Bruce or Carter, Monger, Polecat, Scotland, Slick or Mt. Carmel. Some students attended Greenland, located just across the county-line road in Pulaski County.  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="13714c4c0.jpg" border=0 width="76" height="76" ALT="Little school" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="9" VSPACE="5">By the year 1907, the Jubilee and Russell schools had been organized, while Polecat and Slick/Mt. Carmel were closed. Students from the Polecat school began attending the Jubilee school in 1898. </div> <div> In 1917, the cornerstone for the new school building in the town of Kewanna was laid, with completion by the fall of 1918. In an article in the Kewanna Herald on September 20, 1918, five of the township (country) schools had become obsolete and the students for these districts were being hauled into the new school building in Kewanna. They were: Davis/Jackson, Ireland, Slick/Mt. Carmel, College Corner and Scotland.</div> <div> In 1928, a new high school and gymnasium was constructed in Kewanna. The remaining one-room schools in Union Township, except Bruce Lake Station, were consolidated into the Kewanna School. Those schools were Jubilee, Russell, Lake Bruce/Carter, Prairie Grove and Monger. The Bruce Lake Station School was closed in 1929, thus ending the era of one-room 'country' schools in Union Township.</div> <div>  </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>       <IMG SRC="1373f0af0.jpg" border=0 width="240" height="175" ALT="One room school" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">                 </div> <div> LOCATION OF COUNTRY SCHOOLS IN UNION TOWNSHIP</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Polecat School - District #1</B></div> <div> Located E side of 600W at approximately 150S</div> <div> John Hartman property (later Ralph Johnston/Virgil Jana property)</div> <div> Built before 1876</div> <div> Closed in 1898</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Jubilee School - District #1</B></div> <div> Located NW corner of 600W and 100S</div> <div> Sylvester Collins property (later Collins Gravel Pit)</div> <div> Built in 1898</div> <div> Closed in 1928</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Lake Bruce or Carter School - District #2</B></div> <div> Located SW corner of 1050W and 50N</div> <div> Silas Smith property (later Bruce Lake Cemetery)</div> <div> Built before 1876</div> <div> Closed in 1928</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Ireland School - District #3</B></div> <div> Located a mile and one-half west of Kewanna on SE corner of 1100W and 150S</div> <div> William C. Miller property (later Robert H. Miller property)</div> <div> Built before 1876</div> <div> Closed in 1918</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>College Corner School - District #4</B></div> <div> Located one mile west of Kewanna, and a mile S on the NE corner of roads 350S and 1000W</div> <div> Thomas W. Barnett property</div> <div> Built in 1863 </div> <div> Closed in 1918</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Russell School - District #5</B></div> <div> Located S side of Division [SR 14], at approximately 800W</div> <div> Samuel Smith property (later Oliver Smith/Philip R. Anderson property)</div> <div> Built around 1898</div> <div> Closed in 1925</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Scotland School - District #6</B></div> <div> Located one mile SE of Kewanna, W side of 800W between 300S and 400S</div> <div> Edward Toner property (later William Calvin property)</div> <div> Built before 1876</div> <div> Closed around 1907</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Davis or Jackson School - District #7</B></div> <div> Located E side of 775W at approximately 1100S</div> <div> Closed in 1903 or 1904</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Monger School - District #8</B></div> <div> Located 1310N and 700W</div> <div> Daniel Monger property (later Benjamin Fort property)</div> <div> Built in 1913</div> <div> Closed in 1928</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Prairie Grove School - District #9</B></div> <div> Located SW corner of 600W and 300S (across from Prairie Grove Church)</div> <div> Matthew H. Walters property</div> <div> Built 1875</div> <div> Closed in 1928</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Slick or Mt. Carmel School - District #10</B></div> <div> Located 2 miles N of Kewanna; SW corner of 950W and 50S</div> <div> Joe Slick property</div> <div> Built in 1879</div> <div> Closed in 1912 (burned down)</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Bruce Lake Station School - District #11</B></div> <div> Located N side of 100N at 900W</div> <div> Daniel Henricks property</div> <div> Built between 1883 and 1907</div> <div> Closed in 1929</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>SCHOOL HOUSES ARE SOLD BY UNION TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE</B></div> <div>  </div> <div> Mrs. Thomas Reed, Kewanna, township trustee, during the past few days has disposed of all the country school houses in Union Township with the exception of the Bruce Lake Station building. The buildings are rapidly deteriorating and it was thought best to dispose of them at this time.</div> <div> The building at Prairie Grove, which was a frame structure, was bought by Howard Mutchler for $66.00.</div> <div> The Monger school, which was perhaps the best building in the township, being built of hard brick, was sold to Ray Lough for $85.00. Mr. Lough plans to remodel the structure and make a dwelling.</div> <div> The Lake school was sold to Mrs. Mettie Ackerman for $50.00. Mrs. Ackerman has not fully decided what she will use the brick taken from the building for, but is considering at this time the erection of a cottage on the north side of Bruce Lake.</div> <div> The Jubilee building went to Sylvester S. Collins for $10.00.</div> <div> The Russell school on road 14 was sold to the Sam Smith heirs for $10.00.</div> <div>  </div> <div> [SOURCE: The News-Sentinel, Friday, December 14, 1934]</div> <div>  </div> <div> The Russell school real estate consisting of 1/2 acre was also purchased from Union Township by the Sam Smith heirs for $25.00 on December 14, 1934. The canceled check below represents the purchase of both the school building and real estate. </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <IMG SRC="1372a7b40.jpg" border=0 width="423" height="180" ALT="Check for Russell School" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="671" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 243 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="136c25ed0.jpg" border=0 width="293" height="237" ALT="Russell Country School" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="13986ded0.jpg" border=0 width="365" height="237" ALT="Jubilee Country School" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="294"><div> Russell School</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="366"><div> Jubilee School</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> Submitted by Mary Ruth 'Moo' Ingram September 16, 2008</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#800080" FACE="Georgia" ><A HREF="http://www.globalscape.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.globalscape.com"><U><IMG SRC="138054290.png" border=0 width="84" height="41" ALT="CSB" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>    Contact webmaster at </FONT><A HREF="mailto:wm@kewannahigh.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:wm@kewannahigh.com"><U><U>wm@kewannahigh.com</U></U></A>     <A HREF="http://www.addr.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.addr.com"><U><U><IMG SRC="1381581f0.png" border=0 width="88" height="31" ALT="Powered by Addr.com" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>